World news | The Guardian

A TikTok trend for garnishing ramen noodles has turned yesterday's post-pub last resort into today's desirable dishWith their bad-taste adverts and laddish branding, instant noodles were once a mainstay for lazy bachelors who needed a quick post-pub fix.Now they are back in the limelight - but with a gourmet makeover spurred by a social media trend. Supermarket sales and search data show instant noodles are once again becoming a cupboard staple, this time with a few fancy" additions. Continue reading...

Boy, 15, remanded to a committal mention in January for allegedly murdering Oscar Hamilton

Consumer group says 6,161 branches have been shut since 2015 and there are 30 constituencies without oneYorkshire has the lowest ratio of bank branches to people of anywhere in the UK after a wave of closures that has left many places without a single outlet, research has found.The Yorkshire and the Humber region now has 248 branches left to serve a population of 5.6 million people, according to consumer group Which? That equates to 4.4 branches for each 100,000 people, leaving every Yorkshire resident sharing their branch with 22,557 others". Continue reading...

Storm developing over Caribbean could become category 4 hurricane by Thursday as evacuations ordered in FloridaJoe Biden declared a state of emergency for Florida on Tuesday afternoon as the state braced for the prospect of Tropical Storm Helene swelling into a powerful hurricane heading for the state's Gulf coast.The US president ordered federal assistance to supplement state and local responses. The action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate hardship and suffering, the White House said. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president accuses Putin of violating UN foundations and says war cannot be ended by talks aloneIn a forceful speech to the UN security council, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on a broad alliance of nations to force Russia into peace", saying that Vladimir Putin has violated the foundations of the United Nations and that the war can't be conquered by talks" alone.Addressing the council, of which Russia is a permanent member, Zelenskyy accused Moscow of committing international crimes" by targeting Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure, and claimed he had proof that Putin is plotting to target three Ukrainian nuclear power plants to further degrade the country's energy grid. Continue reading...

Labour needs voters to believe politics can make their lives better not that politicians are all the same, hence why the donations row was so damagingWhen Keir Starmer wanted to inject a moment of levity into his first speech as prime minister at the Labour conference, he told a story about visiting a holiday cottage in the Lake District where the owner joked about wanting to push him down the stairs.As lighter moments go, it had a dark edge. It is British humour, of course, but there is a reason it made an impression on Starmer - it's a microcosm of what he and his closest advisers see as their greatest threat: the cynicism and disdain with which ordinary people view politicians. The view that they are all the same, all on the take. The widespread lack of trust that politics can make lives better. Continue reading...

One mother told Thirlwall inquiry she was unaware for six years anything had happenedParents of babies attacked by Lucy Letby were not told their children had suffered life-threatening collapses until they were contacted by the police years later, an inquiry has heard.The parents of one newborn boy said it was disgusting" they were kept in the dark" by staff at the Countess of Chester hospital after their son's health suffered a serious deterioration in June 2016. Continue reading...

A further 175,000 pensioners are likely to stop receiving allowance under such plans, official figures show

Efforts to bring peace to Gaza prove fruitless as Israel increases airstrikes on Lebanon and Hezbollah return fire with deadlier missilesIt is now clear that last Tuesday's exploding pager operation was just a first step. What is now unfolding is an Israeli strategy of military escalation against Hezbollah, premised on the risky belief that the militant group can be bombed into a ceasefire before fighting in Gaza ends.Monday's wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed at least 558 people and displaced many thousands, and there is little sign of the campaign slowing. Israel's air force has said it had dropped 2,000 bombs in 24 hours - and there can be little doubt that this is now a full-on war, though it is not yet an all-out conflict. Continue reading...

The singer and actor has revealed the upcoming release of a companion album to her role in Joker: Folie a DeuxLady Gaga has announced an accompanying 13-song album to her new film Joker: Folie a Deux.The singer and actor had been teasing the news on social media and has now shared that the album, Harlequin, will be released on 27 September. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereYvette Cooper, the home secretary, has accused the Tory leadership candidates of lining up with Reform UK to undermine faith in the police.She criticised them for supporting claims that two-tier policing" is in force, describing them as rightwing wreckers, undermining respect for the law".But I'll be honest - I've been shocked by the response from some of those in political parties on the right who once claimed to care about law and order.After rioters attacked the police, they should have given full-throated backing to our brave officers. Continue reading...

Country held chair due to rotating presidency despite Orban government being under EU sanctions procedureHungary's government has presided over EU talks on upholding democratic standards across the continent, in a development one prominent MEP described as outrageous".Viktor Orban's government has been under an EU sanctions procedure since 2018 for posing a systemic threat" to democracy and the rule of law. Continue reading...

Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air France and Lufthansa among carriers pausing services to and from BeirutInternational airlines have suspended more flights to Lebanon amid an Israeli bombardment that authorities said had killed almost 560 people since Monday.The United Arab Emirates-based airline Emirates announced the temporary suspension of its flights to Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday. Its sister airline flydubai also cancelled flights to Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday. Continue reading...

Tulip Siddiq says she will make a decision after Financial Conduct Authority reports back to herThe City minister has asked the financial watchdog to rethink plans to name and shame' some firms it investigates, suggesting she could overrule it.Speaking at the fringes of the Labour party conference, Tulip Siddiq said she has held several meetings with the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, to question them about their plans before determining if she will allow them to proceed. Continue reading...

Dutch group has not said how many of its 3,500 employees in the UK and Ireland will be affectedThe paint manufacturer behind Dulux is to cut about 2,000 jobs worldwide in a bid to slash costs.AkzoNobel said that it planned to complete a programme of redundancies by the end of 2025 to make its operations more efficient. Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen criticised for merging equality commissioner role into brief including crisis managementMore than 50 rights organisations from across Europe have expressed their shock and dismay" at Ursula von der Leyen's decision to do away with the standalone EU position of equality commissioner, describing it as a downgrading" of the fight against discrimination.Von der Leyen presented her lineup for the new commission in Brussels earlier this month. Her 27 commissioner designates - senior EU officials who hold positions akin to government ministers - included Hadja Lahbib, currently Belgium's foreign minister, who was tasked with a portfolio that spans preparedness and crisis management as well as equality. Continue reading...

Mogul's music sees 18.3% increase in streams during week of arrest in sex-trafficking and racketeering caseSean Diddy" Combs's vast music catalog has seen a jump in streams since his arrest and the unsealing of an indictment against him.Under his many professional monikers - including Diddy, Puff Daddy and P Diddy - the industry data and analytics company Luminate said the mogul's music saw an average 18.3% increase in on-demand streams during the week of his 17 September arrest compared to the previous week. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Group says giving votes to children as young as six would push governments to tackle long-term issuesA group of academics and activists have launched a global campaign to enfranchise children, by pledging to give their own votes to a young person until the voting age is significantly lowered or abolished.Some members of the Children's Voting Colloquium have already voted on behalf of a child even if this has meant opting for a different political party or candidate of their choice. Continue reading...

Yemen government vice-chair fears strikes intended to end shipping chaos are instead helping Houthis rally supportUS-UK airstrikes in Yemen designed to end the Houthi disruption of commercial shipping have not seriously degraded the group's military capability, the vice-chair of the UN-recognised government in Yemen has said.Aidarous al-Zubaidi told the Guardian in an interview he feared the Houthis were using the strikes to rally support behind their cause by portraying the west as the aggressor in Yemen. Continue reading...

Police commissioner stops short of using word genocide' to describe actions of previous governments towards Indigenous population

Supporters say UN mediation has prevented even worse outcomes, but security council is stuck in vicious circle

Admission by doctor at Guy's and St Thomas' made during inquest into deaths of three babies infectedAn NHS trust that gave four newborn babies contaminated feed has admitted that it was operating an entirely unsafe system" at the time they became infected.The admission came during evidence by a senior doctor at Guy's and St Thomas' trust (GSTT), who led its investigation into the outbreak, during an inquest into how one of the very premature babies died. Continue reading...

Exclusive: culture secretary says predecessors vandalised' the arts and pledges state funding for every communityThe Conservatives' violent indifference" to the arts has resulted in communities across the country getting poor access to culture, Lisa Nandy has said ahead of a planned funding review.The culture secretary accused her Tory predecessors of vandalism" as she pledged to get state funding to every community and make sure that private philanthropy reached beyond the major cities. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Scholar names Henry Porter as likely co-author of 1604 play after linguistic clues in his surviving workScholars have long suggested that Christopher Marlowe had a collaborator for the comic scenes of his classic play Doctor Faustus, although his name alone is on the 1604 published edition. Now a largely forgotten dramatist, Henry Porter, has emerged as the likely co-author, based on comparative linguistic evidence that has been unearthed from his surviving play.Doctor Faustus is a tragic story of vanity and greed, in which a scholar sells his soul to the devil in return for knowledge and power. The tragedy is mirrored by scenes of comic horseplay that are now thought to have been written by Porter, who was described by a contemporary as the best for comedy amongst us". Continue reading...

It comes as the opposition leader says Gooreng Gooreng man Justin Mohamed is being flown around the world doing I don't know what'

RBA decision was in line with economists' forecasts as economy endures persistent inflationary pressuresThe Reserve Bank has left its key interest rate unchanged for a seventh meeting as the central bank waits for clearer evidence inflation is in retreat before it begins cutting borrowing costs.The RBA ended its latest two-day board meeting on Tuesday by keeping its cash rate at 4.35%, the level its remained since November. The decision was as economists had expected. Continue reading...

Police stationed across territory and curfews tightened over concern of new outbreaks of violence after months of deadly unrestNew Caledonia was on edge on Tuesday, with fears tensions could spill over into fresh unrest as the territory marked the anniversary of the French takeover - and some independence figures prepared to issue calls for sovereignty.September 24 is a symbolic day in New Caledonia, long regarded as a day of mourning among the Indigenous Kanak population. This year the anniversary comes after months of deadly unrest and heightened tensions in the French Pacific territory between pro-independence Kanak people and the communities loyal to Paris. Continue reading...

Tony Armstrong, a Logie winner for best new talent and Gold Logie nominee, to leave in October amid negotiations with the ABC for a new TV show

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig, who was taken into custody in December 2018, says he spent months in solitary confinement and was interrogated dailyA former Canadian diplomat detained by China for more than 1,000 days said he was placed in solitary confinement for months and interrogated for up to nine hours every day, treatment he said amounted to psychological torture.Michael Kovrig, speaking to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp in his first major interview since his release, also said he had missed the birth of his daughter and met her for the first time when she was two-and-a half years old. Continue reading...

Analysis of satellite images show 60-metre crater at silo suggesting a catastrophic failure' after ignitionRussia's Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile - known in the west as Satan II - appears to have suffered a catastrophic failure" during a test launch, according to analysis of satellite images.The images captured by Maxar on 21 September show a crater about 60 metres (200 feet) wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. They reveal extensive damage that was not visible in pictures taken earlier in the month. Continue reading...

Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero brace for impact as life-threatening' category 2 storm to make landfall TuesdayMexico's southern coast was bracing for flash floods and storm surges as Hurricane John quickly intensified into a category 2 storm on Monday afternoon.Originally forecast as a tropical storm, Hurricane John rapidly strengthened" into a category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100mph (160kmh), according to the US National Hurricane Center, which warned of damaging hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Marieha Hussain asks police watchdog to look into claim the force pursued a politicised case against herThe teacher acquitted of a racially aggravated public order offence after she held a placard depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts at a pro-Palestine protest has called on the police watchdog to investigate the Metropolitan police over its handling of the case.Marieha Hussain, who was found not guilty at Westminster magistrates court earlier this month, claims the Met and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) pursued a politicised case against her without justification after she attended the march in November last year. Continue reading...

Filippo Turetta accused of killing university student Giulia Cecchettin in case that has ignited calls for cultural changeA major femicide trial has opened in Italy, after the brutal murder of a university student by her ex-boyfriend that triggered outrage and national soul-searching over the roots of male violence against women.The stabbing in November of Giulia Cecchettin, 22, a biomedical engineering student at the University of Padua, cast a grim spotlight on femicide in Italy, where the vast majority of victims are killed at the hands of their current or former partners. Continue reading...

Exclusive: store issues new statement as lawyers describe redress scheme it has set up as attempted whitewash'Harrods is investigating whether any of its current staff were directly or indirectly involved" in the alleged sexual abuse of women by its former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.With more than 100 women having come forward to allege being raped or assaulted by the Egyptian tycoon, the luxury store said it had launched a review and was in direct contact with Scotland Yard. Continue reading...

The chancellor beamed her way through a conference speech that offered hope at least but little of substance

Bodies responsible for monitoring accounting and legal sectors not doing enough to stop money laundering, watchdog saysA lack of proper oversight across the City of London's network of lawyers, bookkeepers and accountants is hampering efforts to crack down on dirty money being funnelled through the UK, the City watchdog has warned.The latest report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) flagged concerns over the work of the UK's 25 professional bodies - which oversee the accounting and legal sectors - and found that some were spending as little as 73 a year on anti-money laundering supervision or were outsourcing it entirely to third parties. Continue reading...

Inquiry into murder of babies at the Countess of Chester hospital hears about newborn girl fitted with stomaThe parents of an extremely vulnerable newborn girl have said they were disgusted to find her covered in her own faeces" while under the care of the nurse Lucy Letby.The inquiry into the murder of babies at the Countess of Chester hospital heard that one child had been fitted with a stoma as well as a catheter, known as a Broviac line, after her birth in October 2015. Continue reading...

Symphonic ballad will be released on Thursday, ahead of new album Songs of a Lost World which awaits an official announcementThe Cure have announced their first new song in 16 years, entitled Alone, to be released on Thursday.A post on the band's social media contains a snippet of the song: a symphonic ballad with heavy drums and lurching electric guitar, with frontman Robert Smith singing: This is the end of every song that we sing / the fire burned out to ash, the stars grow dim with tears." Continue reading...

Almost all operators who continue to face discrepancies' say they involve a financial shortfall, survey finds

Some areas may experience 100-120mm of rain with potential for disruption and flooding, says Met OfficeMore than a month's worth of rain could fall in parts of England on Monday, with flood warnings issued and an amber weather alert in place for central and southern parts of the country.The Met Office issued an amber weather alert for rain until 9pm in an area including Milton Keynes, Oxford, Reading, Bath and Gloucester, meaning some flooding and travel disruption was expected. Continue reading...

Director of public prosecutions says by contrast other parents seemed to view joining in disorder as a day out'A 14-year-old boy was spared prosecution for involvement in the riots that gripped parts of the UK this summer because his parents gave him a stern telling-off, whereas others had appeared to regard the disorder as a bit of fun, the director of public prosecutions has said.Stephen Parkinson drew a comparison with another case, in which the mother of a 12-year-old boy was ordered to pay 1,200 in compensation to his victims, and the child was given a referral order, after she went on holiday to Ibiza rather than attend court. Continue reading...

Operators of e-scooter share schemes face penalties if rentals are not removed from City of Melbourne streets by midnight

Many considered too old to be easily integrated into mainstream schooling and too young for further educationThousands of teenage asylum seekers are thought to be spending up to a year out of education in a no man's land" because schools are reluctant to accept them if they arrive after September, a report warns.Teenage asylum seekers are seen as too old to be easily integrated into mainstream schooling and too young for further education, leaving many stuck in a limbo that leaves them vulnerable to isolation, mental health deterioration and exploitation, according to research conducted by the charity Refugee Education UK (REUK) and funded by the Bell Foundation, an education charity. Continue reading...

Anti-gambling advocates say pre-commitment card offers best chance to reduce overwhelming' harm caused by losses of half a million dollars a day

Mark Rowley launches initiative that includes reset of stop and search, but acknowledges there is still a lot to do'Scotland Yard has launched its latest steps to try to rebuild trust with London's black community, which the Met police commissioner acknowledged had been let down for many years.Mark Rowley said there remains a long way to go and there is a lot more work to do", but that the force's race action plan was a step in the right direction. Continue reading...

Health secretary shares light-hearted quip at party's conference over embattled No 10 aideWes Streeting has joked that Keir Starmer's embattled senior aide Sue Gray also shot JFK" and was hiding Lord Lucan" amid a continuing row over her salary.The health secretary made light of suggestions of mounting acrimony at the heart of government as he spoke at an event on the sidelines of the Labour party conference in Liverpool. Continue reading...

More serious exchanges of fire could lead to cross-border attack but it is a move that is fraught with riskSo serious were the exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah this weekend, it is hard to be sure that the two sides have not already crossed the threshold of all-out" war.Israel's air force said it had struck 290 targets in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least three. Hezbollah responded by launching 150 missiles, rockets and drones into Israel overnight, the deepest attack since violent hostilities broke out when the Iran-aligned group began launching rocket attacks in support of Hamas after 7 October. Continue reading...

Weather warnings to continue into Monday after weekend of flooding, lighting strikes and a tornadoA damp squib of a summer has abruptly ended in an appropriately biblical fashion after intense thunderstorms swept the UK over the weekend with severe weather warnings for rain continuing into Monday across most of England and Wales.Forecasters warned the public to be wary of flooding, with the potential for some communities to be cut off by flooded roads and a chance of power cuts, amid yellow and amber warnings for rain on Monday. Continue reading...

Donations scandal rumbles on into Labour conference as allies call for a change in strategy

Director of Hamas-run housing ministry among dead after strike on building housing displaced people, officials saySeven people have been killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a school housing displaced people in western Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said, amid fears that Gaza's worsening humanitarian crisis might be forgotten as tensions boil between Hezbollah and Israel.The strike hit Kafr Qasem school in Beach camp on Sunday morning, officials in Gaza said. Among those killed was Majed Saleh, the director of the Hamas-run public works and housing ministry, they added. Continue reading...