World news | The Guardian

UK has had average of just three hours of sun over past week, but skies should start to clear from SundayAn anticyclonic gloom" has been blamed for cloudy weather across parts of England, with one village receiving absolutely no sunshine since October.Odiham, in Hampshire, has reportedly recorded zero minutes of sunshine since October, but forecasters are predicting that the fog, drizzle and low cloud should start clearing from Sunday. Continue reading...

Robert Smith says getting first chart-topper since 1992's Wish is enormously uplifting' and genuinely heartwarming'The Cure have scored their first UK No 1 album in 32 years, with Songs of a Lost World.The band's frontman Robert Smith said: It is enormously uplifting, genuinely heartwarming to experience such a wonderful reaction to the release of the new Cure album. To everyone who has bought it, listened to it, loved it, believed in us over the years - thank you!" Continue reading...

Jonathan Powell led talks on Chagos Islands in September and played key role in Good Friday agreementJonathan Powell, the former chief of staff to Tony Blair, has been appointed as Keir Starmer's national security adviser in a further sign that leading figures from the New Labour era are returning to the government.The veteran former diplomat, who played a significant role in the Northern Ireland peace deal struck in 1998 and served Blair for a decade, will be responsible for advising on the UK's approach to the war in Ukraine and the international implications of Donald Trump's presidency. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Official in Zelenskyy administration expresses frustration with Starmer over lack of missilesUkraine's relationship with the UK has got worse" since the Labour government took power in July, officials in Kyiv have told the Guardian, voicing frustration over Britain's failure to supply additional long-range missiles.The UK prime minister is yet to visit Ukraine four months after taking office and a frustrated Kyiv has said that a trip would be worthless unless Keir Starmer committed to replenishing stocks of the sought after long-range Storm Shadow system. Continue reading...

Ivory Coast drinks festival aims to champion and change perceptions of alcohol made in the regionAt an event in Abidjan in late October, Alexandre Quest Bede noticed someone staring at him. Then the stranger walked up to him with a T-shirt and asked for an autograph.He pointed at me excitedly and said: You're Monsieur Gnamakou, I know you from Instagram!'" recalls Bede at the poolside bar of Bissa, a boutique hotel in the upmarket Deux Plateaux neighbourhood on the eve of Abidjan cocktail week. Continue reading...

Employment tribunal rules 15,000 drivers for private hire-hailing app are not self-employed contractorsThousands of Bolt drivers have won their legal claim to be classed as employees and could be in line for compensation of more than 200m.An employment tribunal ruled that 15,000 Bolt drivers were not self-employed contractors who ran their own businesses. Continue reading...

Group expects strong financial performance to continue' as it announces 350m share buyback schemeStrong demand for transatlantic travel has boosted the profits of British Airways owner, International Airlines Group, (IAG), with the UK national carrier outperforming rivals despite widespread European flight delays.Operating profits for the peak summer season were up about 15% on last year to 2bn (1.7 bn) , with BA achieving a 20% margin, even with labour costs 14% higher than in 2023. Continue reading...

Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua also reeling after fifth major hurricane of season causes landslides and floodingHurricane Rafael became the 17th named storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season this week, reaching the minimum expectation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Back in May, Noaa warned of an above-average level of activity, predicting 17-25 named storms, in comparison with the average of 14.Of these 17-25 storms, Noaa predicted that eight to 13 would become hurricanes, four to seven of which would be classified as major", meaning category 3 or higher. Both of these predictions are also above average, and these thresholds have already been reached, with Rafael being the 11th hurricane and fifth major hurricane of the season. Continue reading...

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Resident in the suburb of Como says water was literally spraying all around' after pipeline to Woronora Dam burst

Health and children's groups urge UK ministers to impose levies on products containing too much salt or sugarDozens of health and children's groups have urged ministers to tackle obesity by imposing taxes on foods containing too much salt or sugar.New levies based on the sugar tax on soft drinks would make it easier for consumers to eat more healthily by forcing food manufacturers to reformulate their products, they claim.74% think food firms are not honest about the health impact of their products.61% worry about the amount of sugar and saturated fat in what they eat.Only 13% believe producers will make their food more nutritious without government intervention.72% worry about high levels of processing used in food production. Continue reading...

Teenager in custody after 69-year-old woman killed and two police officers injured in Murrumba Downs collision

12 Palestinians killed in attack on al-Shati refugee camp; Irish foreign minister says country will join South Africa's case in the international court of justiceIran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said the presidential election result in the US is a chance for a new administration to review the wrong approaches of the past".Reuters quotes Esmaeil Baghaei saying We had bitter experiences with various US governments' past policies and approaches. Elections are an opportunity to review the wrong approaches of the past. What is important for Iran will be how we evaluate the actions of the US government." Continue reading...

Mubi cancels four-day event in protest as local government blocks screening of Luca Guadagnino-directed movie QueerOrganisers of an Istanbul film festival announced its cancellation on Thursday to protest against a local authority ban on the screening of Queer, a drama starring Daniel Craig.The arthouse film streaming platform Mubi said it was cancelling the entire four-day festival just hours before it was set to open in Kadikoy, on the Asian side of Istanbul. Continue reading...

Competition to resemble Normal People star is markedly lower-stakes than chaotic Timothee Chalamet event in New York last monthTwo weeks ago, a mobbed competition to find a Timothee Chalamet lookalike in New York led to one arrest, a $500 fine for an unpermitted costume contest" and a surprise appearance by the real-life Chalamet, fuelling further chaos.But a similar event in Dublin on Thursday, this time to find a doppelganger for Paul Mescal, the star of Normal People and the upcoming Gladiator II, unfolded rather more sedately. Continue reading...

Gambling Commission figures show shock rise to 85,000 in number of young people deemed to have addictionThe proportion of young people in Great Britain with a gambling problem has more than doubled, according to astonishing" official data that prompted calls for urgent government intervention.New figures from the Gambling Commission, which regulates bookies, online casinos and the national lottery, revealed a shock rise, to 85,000, in the number of children classified as having a gambling problem under widely used diagnostic criteria. Continue reading...

Damian Homer stabbed Wendy Francis, 61, twice in the chest after she tried to help her daughter during the attackA lorry driver and ex-DJ who stabbed his partner's mother to death in a drunken attack after she tried to help her daughter has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.Damian Homer, 51, also stabbed his partner, Stacey Hill, 38, who tried to shield her mother, Wendy Francis, from the kitchen knife he wielded after an argument. Continue reading...

EPC talks in Budapest call for unity on continent as former US president's return to White House brings uncertaintyEuropean leaders have called for stronger action to defend their continent and support Ukraine in a show of unity after Donald Trump won re-election to the White House for a second term that is likely to prove a major challenge for the bloc.Meeting in Budapest for two days of talks hosted by Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orban, an outspoken Trump ally, the EU's 27 heads of state and government were joined on Thursday by 20 other leaders from the wider European Political Community including Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Continue reading...

France summons Israeli ambassador over incident at Eleona domain in Jerusalem which is under French controlThe French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot has abandoned a visit to a holy site in Jerusalem under French control after armed Israeli police entered the site and briefly arrested two French gendarmes.France has summoned the Israeli ambassador over the incident, the latest of several controversies involving the Eleona sanctuary on the Mount of Olives, which along with three other sites make up the French national domain in the Holy Land. Continue reading...

Deputy prime minister says she spoke with vice president-elect about plans for the future and working together'Yesterday Ed Balls, the former Labour shadow chancellor, said Donald Trump's victory in the US showed that, if Labour did not improve living standards by the end of this parliament, it too would be voted out. During his interviews this morning Pat McFadden did not quite go that far, but he said the American election showed why Labour was focusing on the cost of living. (See 10.47am.)In an article for LabourList, Liam Byrne, the former Labour Treasury minister who now chairs the Commons business committee, makes a similar version of the same argument; he says Trump's victory shows that Labour could lose the next election if it does not reduce wealth inequality.It will be a few days until we have time to inspect the details of Vice President Harris' defeat. But there was one clear story about the last time President Trump sailed to victory. The places that were left behind by American growth, the places at the sharp end of growing inequality, were far more likely to vote for Trump.But guess what?CONCLUSION: The warning is clear. Labour has to fix address the inequality tearing at our social fabric. If we fail, populism will only grow stronger. We need not just economic investment, but a path for real prosperity for the families and regions left behind Continue reading...

X-Men and Deadpool writer Simon Kinberg has been hired to write and produce a new trilogy with new charactersA new Star Wars trilogy is in the works from Lucasfilm and X-Men's Simon Kinberg.According to Deadline, the new films will reportedly take place after the most recent trilogy that concluded with The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. It will allegedly involve new characters and a new storyline, although the return of known names popping up has not been ruled out. Continue reading...

Runcorn and Helsby MP, 55, to appear in court at later dateMike Amesbury, the MP suspended by Labour pending an investigation, has been charged with assault after an incident following a night out.Amesbury, 55, was suspended by the party and lost the Labour whip on 27 October after a clip was published by MailOnline. Continue reading...

Some 50,000 people took shelter in Havana after storm made landfall as category 3 on WednesdayCuba has been left reeling after a fierce category 3 hurricane ripped across the island, knocking out the country's power grid, downing trees and damaging infrastructure. No fatalities were immediately reported.Hurricane Rafael crossed a western portion of Cuba on Wednesday evening about 45 miles (75km) west of Havana, where Jose Ignacio Dimas returned home from his night shift as a security guard to find his apartment building in the historic center of the city had collapsed. Continue reading...

Australian Communications and Media Authority says telco did not do welfare check on 369 people who tried to make a call while lines were down

Reform UK leader to give speech in Wales while US election result was also celebrated by Tommy RobinsonNigel Farage will on Friday address his party's first big rally since Donald Trump's election win as Britain's emboldened populist right seek to drive momentum and build on links with the US president-elect.In an offer that has been declined by Labour, the Reform UK leader has already suggested he could work behind the scenes" to build ties with Trump's administration on behalf of the UK government. Continue reading...

Profits are up 4.7% but extra 140m on national insurance bill could mean more expensive groceriesFood sales at Sainsbury's have been boosted by a return to the office and fewer people dining out in restaurants, as the retailer warned of possible price rises as a result of having to pay 140m more next year in national insurance contributions [NICs].The supermarket chain's pre-tax profits were 356m for the six months to mid-September, up 4.7% on the same period last year, driven by a 5% increase in sales in its grocery business. Continue reading...

Partner in company due to receive shipment arrested after 13 tonnes of drug discovered at port of AlgecirasSpanish police and customs officers have intercepted the largest known consignment of cocaine ever to reach the country, seizing more than 13 tonnes of the drug, hidden in a cargo of bananas shipped from Ecuador.Spain's Policia Nacional said the seizure was the second largest recorded in Europe and one of the largest anywhere in the world. Continue reading...

Angela Rayner says restrictions may be placed on new social housing to prevent loss of stockMinisters may stop new council houses in England from being sold under the right to buy scheme, Angela Rayner has indicated.The deputy prime minister said the government would introduce restrictions on new social housing so we aren't losing that stock". Continue reading...

A nationwide abortion ban could become a reality, and access to other forms of reproductive healthcare are at riskAbortion, the issue thought to be the magic bullet that would mortally wound Donald Trump's chances at a second presidency, instead failed to stop him on Tuesday. Now, two years after a conservative supermajority on the US supreme court ended federal protections for the procedure, the future of American abortion access is facing a new chapter of extraordinary peril.While seven states passed ballot measures to amend their state constitutions and protect abortion rights, Trump's return to the White House means those hard-fought efforts may amount to nothing. Despite the gridlock in US Congress, a nationwide abortion ban could soon become a reality: anti-abortion advocates hope that Trump will resurrect a 19th-century anti-vice law to effectively implement a nationwide ban. Access to other forms of reproductive healthcare, such as contraception and in vitro fertilization, are also at risk. Continue reading...

Pat McFadden say he thinks UK and US governments will get on well' despite past comments by senior Labour figures

Half-year pre-tax profits drop 10% to 967m in competitive retail environment'

Reeves's budget could slow demand but prices have not fallen significantly since post-pandemic race for space'

A fierce contest can be a good thing, as long as it's a contest about substance', PM tells global democracy conference in Sydney

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Party leader threatens to take Labor's Emily Kim to Human Rights Commission over racial comments'

PM fully briefed on potential outcomes' of US election and says Australia is prepared for Trump's policies on security, economic and other issues

Stone memorial at church in Withnell tells story of Pte James Miller who was killed at Battle of Somme in 1916A granite stone cross in the boundary wall of an otherwise ordinary English churchyard has been given listed status because of the extraordinary" story it reveals of first world war heroism.Most war memorials are dedicated to numbers of people, but the memorial at St Paul's church in Withnell, Lancashire, is dedicated to just one. Continue reading...

Some residents in the Western Downs region in Queensland have been told to prepare to leave amid a fast-moving fire

Joshua Creamer says ceasing inquiry's work continues 165 years of government failing to listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples'

The Guardian's Washington bureau chief, David Smith, explains how Donald Trump won a second term and what he intends to do with itDonald Trump won a decisive victory in the US presidential election on Tuesday night, becoming the first man in 150 years to have been voted out as president and then win office again.The Guardian's Washington bureau chief, David Smith, explains to Lucy Hough how the night unfolded at Trump's victory rally in Florida, and how the former president even managed to win the popular vote after months of polls predicting a knife-edge contest. Continue reading...

Island's national power company says strong winds from category 3 hurricane caused disconnectionCuba's national power grid has suffered a country-wide blackout as Hurricane Rafael made landfall on the island's south-west coast as a powerful category 3 hurricane.In a brief statement on Wednesday, the country's national power company, Union Electrica, said: Strong winds caused by the powerful Hurricane Rafael have caused the disconnection of the national electrical system. Contingency protocols have been applied." Continue reading...

Missouri, which voted for Trump, backed increasing minimum wage, while blue California said yes for a tough-on-crime proposition

Dollar up and renewable energy stocks down, while shares in president-elect's media business rise by more than a third

Tribunal ruled in May that Roz Adams was constructively dismissed by Edinburgh Rape Crisis CentreA rape crisis worker who was found to have been unfairly dismissed over her gender-critical views has received 69,000 in compensation.In May, a tribunal ruled Roz Adams was constructively dismissed by the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) after suffering harassment and discrimination. Continue reading...

Several bodies pulled from sea after boat got into difficulty off coast of Audresselles on Monday nightMore than 50 people have been rescued after attempting to cross the Channel and the bodies of several others were found floating at sea.The French coastguard said 51 people were rescued on Monday night after a boat got into difficulty when its engine failed off the coast of Audresselles in northern France. Those rescued were met by emergency services at Boulogne-sur-Mer quayside and taken to safety. Continue reading...

Jake Wray pushed a flaming wheelie bin into police and stopped drivers to check they were white during the summer riotsAn overtly racist", attention-seeking yob who stopped drivers to check they were white during the summer riots has been jailed for 38 months.Jake Wray, 23, from Middlesbrough, admitted violent disorder in the town on 4 August, including trying to set a car on fire, making racist chants and pushing a flaming wheelie bin into police lines. Continue reading...

Jurors told Urfan Sharif had made comments 18 months before 10-year-old Surrey schoolgirl was killedThe father of Sara Sharif had said his daughter had made his life hell" 18 months before she was killed, a court has heard.Urfan Sharif said his wife, Beinash Batool, had accused Sara of misbehaving while he was at work, alleging the 10-year-old had cut up his clothes and shoelaces and hidden his keys. Continue reading...

Two men in their 30s and one in his 50s detained on suspicion of manslaughter and cannabis productionThree men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and the production of cannabis in connection with a house explosion which killed two people, including a seven-year-old boy, in Newcastle.Northumbria police on Wednesday said two men in their 30s and one man in his 50s were in police custody. Continue reading...

More than 70,000 people reportedly evacuated and military mobilised with hurricane close to making landfallCuba is bracing for Hurricane Rafael, which is expected to make landfall on Wednesday and compound the misery wrought by a recent blackout and Hurricane Oscar.Early on Wednesday it was about 160 miles (260km) south-east of Havana and packing winds of 99mph (160km/h), making it a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Five is the strongest. Continue reading...

Major cross-party push under way to win over significant number of undecided MPs