Senators upheld five of 11 charges in unprecedented vote while Rigathi Gachagua was treated for chest painsKenya's senate impeached the deputy president, Rigathi Gachagua, while he was in hospital on a day of high political drama in Nairobi.Senators upheld five out of 11 charges against Gachagua in a vote late on Thursday, making him the first deputy president in the country to be ejected from office through impeachment. Continue reading...
John Lyttle will stay as CEO of fashion group, which includes Debenhams and Karen Millen, until successor foundBoohoo's chief executive is stepping down as the online fashion retailer launches a strategic review of its brands, which include Debenhams, Karen Millen and PrettyLittleThing, that could result in a breakup of the company.Shares in Boohoo fell 7% on Friday as investors reacted to news of the surprise departure of John Lyttle, who joined from Primark in 2019 and has agreed to remain in post until a successor is found. Continue reading...
Designer's 27-piece collaboration launched on Thursday, was gone on Friday and will not be restockedMarks & Spencer launched its much-anticipated collaboration with Bella Freud on Thursday, with fans quickly buying up items from the 27-piece collection.By lunchtime, coveted items like the pleated pinstripe skirt had been bought in most sizes from the website, and by Friday morning the majority of the items had sold out in most sizes online. The retailer says the collection will not be restocked. Continue reading...
Boy detained for minimum of 12 years for attempted murder at private Blundell's school in DevonA teenager who who attacked two sleeping students and a teacher with hammers at a private school in Devon has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 12 years after being found guilty of attempted murder.The 17-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was armed with three claw hammers and waited for the two boys to be asleep before attacking them at Blundell's school in Tiverton, Exeter crown court heard. Continue reading...
Shane Simmonds jailed for minimum of 32 years and will serve 12-year terms for two rapes of a separate womanA man from London has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years after he admitted stabbing his wife to death and leaving the body in his attic.Shane Simmonds, 39, had walked into a police station in Lewisham in the early hours of 3 January and told officers that he had killed his wife at their home. Continue reading...
Hopeful Republicans are calling it the farewell tour', as the king toes the tried and tested constitutional lineAs the king arrives in Australia for the first time as head of state, republican rumblings are once more on the media radar.Will it be, as the Australian Republic Movement (ARM) optimistically opines, the monarchy's farewell tour"? Continue reading...
Beckham is hot on heels of Ed Sheeran, Alice Cooper and Kim Kardashian as consumers develop appetite for spicy saucesFirst came tequila. Then rose. Now the latest celebrity-backed brand isn't booze but a hot sauce.Recently, Brooklyn Beckham made his debut into the spicy market with Cloud 23. Continue reading...
Former Daily Record editor says he could not make personal commitment to lead changes party requiresThe chief executive of the Scottish National party, Murray Foote, has unexpectedly quit in the best interests of the party" after it suffered its worst election defeat in nearly two decades.Foote, a former editor of the Labour-leaning Daily Record newspaper, said he did not believe he was the right person to oversee a reorganisation of the SNP and to run the party during the critical" 2026 Holyrood election campaign. Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#6RHKY)
Archie York died in blast at residential properties, which also killed Jason Laws, believed to be in his 30sA family member has paid tribute to a beautiful, funny and caring" seven-year-old boy who was killed in an explosion at a property in Newcastle.The boy has been widely named locally as Archie York. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: The architect of the 7 October attack is dead, but Benjamin Netanyahu gave no indication that the war is about to end Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.Yesterday, Israel confirmed that its forces had killed the Hamas leader, Yahya Sinwar, architect of the 7 October attacks that killed 1,200 Israeli civilians and in which a further 250 were taken hostage.Budget | Rachel Reeves is considering raising the tax on vaping products in her budget this month as figures show that a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds in England have used e-cigarettes.Home Office | The Home Office has recruited 200 staff to clear a backlog of 23,300 modern slavery cases left by the last government, a minister has told the Guardian. It follows reports that some have been waiting years to be defined as victims of modern slavery.China | Labour has backtracked on plans to push for formal recognition that China's treatment of the Uyghurs is genocide in the run-up to David Lammy's trip to the country. The foreign secretary is expected to arrive in Beijing today for high-level meetings before travelling to Shanghai on Saturday.AI | Child sexual abuse imagery generated by artificial intelligence tools is becoming more prevalent on the open web and reaching a tipping point", according to the Internet Watch Foundation, a safety watchdog.Conservatives | Almost half of Conservative councillors polled this week have said neither Robert Jenrick nor Kemi Badenoch will be able to win the next election, while a significant minority said they did not plan to vote in the leadership contest. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now) and Andrew Sparrow (earlier) on (#6RHF6)
Contender says it is about being brave and not being scared that the Guardian is going to mock us'Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, has told MPs that magistrates are getting powers to sentence offenders for longer - to reduce the number of prisoners being held on remand and to cut the backlog in crown courtsIn a statement to MPs, she said that, although this would increase the prison population slightly, by reducing the number of offenders being held on remand it would free up spaces in reception prisons where overcrowding is particularly serious.Unless we address our remand population, we could still see a collapse of the system, not because of a lack of cells, but because we do not have those cells in the places that we need them. It is therefore crucial that we bear down on the remand population.This government inherited a record crown court backlog. Waits for trials have grown so long that some cases are not heard for years.The impact on victims of crime is profound. For some justice delayed is, as the old saying goes, justice denied as victims choose to withdraw from the justice process altogether rather than face the pain of a protracted legal battle.I have made it my personal mission to constrain the Kremlin, closing the net around Putin and his mafia state using every tool at my disposal. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#6RHYW)
Goal seems to be for people to lose confidence in the system', says head of industry body after devices found in Birmingham and LeipzigIf Russia is proved to be behind an incendiary device plot that caused fires at two parcels warehouses in July, it will be evidence that Moscow is aiming to disrupt western confidence, an expert has said.The dangerous packages, which caught light at DHL sites in Birmingham and Leipzig, are not thought to have been sophisticated but in both cases appear to have evaded security checks. German authorities warned this week that a plane could have been downed if the devices, which were both sent by air, had ignited in flight. Continue reading...
Firms such as Klarna to be required to do affordability checks, but campaigners question delay in new rulesShoppers who use buy now, pay later" loans are to get new safeguards against unaffordable borrowing and credit card-style protection for their purchases, under rules outlined by the UK government.However, campaigners have questioned why the BNPL changes will not take effect until 2026, warning that consumers need to be wary" in the meantime. Continue reading...
by Presented by Lucy Hough with Adam Gabbatt on (#6RHSK)
Kamala Harris put distance between herself and the president, using Fox News to give her spikiest interview yet. Adam Gabbatt reports Continue reading...
Reform UK leader received support for his American activities after becoming an MP but has not declared the services as a benefitNigel Farage has used a team of three US advisers to help him with perception management" and public relations in America, as well as with settling a $3,500 hotel bill this summer, new documents show.The official filings, made in the US, reveal that the leader of Reform UK and MP for Clacton has been assisted at least 15 times by CapitalHQ, a firm led by Alexandra Preate, who is a former press spokesperson for the controversial former Donald Trump strategist Steve Bannon. Continue reading...
by Eleni Courea Political Correspondent on (#6RHF7)
Education secretary says she won't accept further freebies and recognises her privilege to receive free tickets UK politics live - latest updatesBridget Phillipson has said she does not know of any cabinet minister who turned down free Taylor Swift tickets amid a row about freebies and the pop star's security arrangements.The education secretary said she would not accept more free tickets after the controversy, which has dogged Labour's first few months in government. Continue reading...
Remarkably frank independent report paints Nine's broadcast division as a workplace in which sexual harassment, bullying and abuse of power is systemic
Officer, who can only be referred to as AB under 40-year court order, allegedly crashed police car in Sydney tunnel after getting drunk at work function
by Richard Partington Economics correspondent on (#6RHB7)
Group of wealthy investors argue it would have no impact on investment in the UK and would raise vital funds for public servicesRachel Reeves has been urged by a group of millionaire business owners to raise 14bn from an increase in capital gains tax at this month's budget, arguing it would have no impact on investment in Britain.Ahead of the chancellor's set-piece event on 30 October, the group of wealthy investors said increasing the tax rate on asset disposals would help to raise vital funds for public services and would not lead to slower economic growth. Continue reading...
by Jason Burke International security correspondent on (#6RHB8)
Analysts suggest proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen fighting hidden conflict could be targets for Israel as it considers retaliation against TehranIran-linked militias in Iraq have launched about 40 attacks involving missiles, drones or rockets on Israel in the past two and a half weeks, the latest escalation in a largely clandestine proxy battle fought across a swath of the Middle East.The attacks began in October last year when the war in Gaza started, but data compiled by the Washington Institute, a US-based thinktank, shows a sharp increase in their pace after Israel killed the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an airstrike on 27 September. Continue reading...
Leaders can only spend limited political capital on Euro initiatives while weighed down by domestic troublesIt has become a wry joke in Brussels that the most stable country in the EU is Italy, once infamous for its succession of short-lived governments.France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Olaf Scholz have been humbled by punishing electoral defeats. Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, presides over a minority government in a country riven by division after a controversial amnesty bill. In Poland, Donald Tusk enjoys a much stronger position, but grapples with an unwieldy coalition and an opposition-allied president. Continue reading...
by Philip Wen (now); Maya Yang, Hayden Vernon, Amy Se on (#6RGEF)
This blog has now closed. You can read our latest report on the conflict here and all our coverage from the region here.Aid has arrived in northern Gaza for the first time in two weeks, according to an update by Cogat, the Israeli body that oversees the Palestinian territories and coordinates with aid groups.In a social media post shared on Wednesday morning, Cogat said that 145 humanitarian aid trucks, containing food, hygiene products, baby formula, and shelter equipment, had entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings.A convoy of 28 trucks entered Gaza directly through Gate 96. The rotation coordination of humanitarian personnel has been successfully completed. 12 bakeries are operational in Gaza, 4 bakeries in northern Gaza, and 8 bakeries southern Gaza." Continue reading...
Jurgen Maier's vision for company includes the potential to borrow its own money in order to rival multinationalsBritain's new national energy company will eventually become a major power generator, running its own windfarms, tidal power and carbon capture schemes and potentially borrowing its own money, according to its new chair.Jurgen Maier, the chair of Great British Energy (GBE), told the Guardian in an interview that his vision for the company far outstrips its current scope and would put it on a par with multinational firms such as Denmark's Orsted or Sweden's Vattenfall. Continue reading...
Refugee Council says nearly 120,000 people await case processing with 63,000 set to be granted asylum by Labour governmentNearly 63,000 people who were waiting for their cases to be processed at the time of the general election are expected to be granted asylum by the Labour government, an analysis has found.The Refugee Council said the government's decision to scrap the plan to deport people to Rwanda and accelerate claims meant the asylum backlog was forecast to be 118,063 at the start of 2025 - 59,000 cases lower than if the government had continued with the policy. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent on (#6RH7M)
Accusation against former Philippines president increases pressure on successor Ferdinand Marcos Jr to allow access to international criminal courtA Philippines former police colonel has testified that Rodrigo Duterte's office offered police up to $17,000 to kill suspects as part of his war on drugs", sparking calls for the evidence to be referred to the international criminal court.Royina Garma, a former police colonel who had close ties to Duterte, gave the most damning evidence yet against the former president, when she told a parliamentary committee last week he had called her in May 2016, asking her to find a police officer capable of implementing a nationwide war on drugs". Continue reading...
by Sian Cain and Harriet Barber in Buenos Aires on (#6RH6D)
British musician found dead outside a hotel in Buenos Aires, according to local policeLiam Payne, a former member of the boyband One Direction, has died aged 31 after falling from a third floor hotel room in Buenos Aires, police have confirmed.The singer died on Wednesday at 5pm local time. Continue reading...
by Eleni Courea Political correspondent on (#6RGHE)
Rachel Reeves aims to find 40bn in budget but several ministers have written to Keir Starmer about spending cutsCabinet ministers have pushed back against planned cuts to their departments in the upcoming budget, with several writing to Keir Starmer to contest them.Several are understood to have shared their concerns at the likelihood of deep cuts to unprotected departments such as housing and transport. Continue reading...