World news | The Guardian

First Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season makes landfall in the US

Nearly a million people are without power in Florida, Alabama and Georgia as rain and flooding remain a concernIsaias weakened on Saturday to a post-tropical cyclone after striking Florida's panhandle as a category 2 hurricane the previous night, though it still posed flooding and tornado threats as it moved inland.More than 868,000 customers were without power across Florida, Alabama and Georgia on early Saturday as those in the path of the storm began the cleanup process, according to PowerOutage.us. Continue reading...

EMS workers, who make life-or-death decisions in emergencies, are the lowest paid first respondersAfter 31 years in New York City's emergency medical services, Oren Barzilay has started giving young New Yorkers advice he never imagined giving when he began his EMS career. Don't come here," he tells them. You are only going to hurt yourself."It is a striking reversal for Barzilay, the recently retired president of FDNY EMS Local 2507. What changed for Barzilay was not his view of work or the value of service. It was what he believes is the New York City failure to pay the people who put their lives at risk to save the lives of others. Continue reading...

Koos Bekker's Newt estate encompasses luxury hotels, pubs and high street business, with local concerns including floodingWhen South African billionaire Koos Bekker bought an old country estate in a sleepy corner of Somerset to turn it into a luxury hotel, residents thought it was a sign their area was on the up.Walking through his peaceful manicured gardens, which feature a maze of apple trees twisted into perfect shapes using the espalier method, it's easy to feel that all is well in this quiet, picturesque pocket of England. Continue reading...

Regulator looks to expand loophole to allow dangerous compounds in food as long as they're not carcinogenicThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to expand a controversial loophole to allow some of the world's most toxic chemicals to be added directly to food without a safety review.The threshold of regulation" (TOR) exemption currently allows dangerous compounds to be used without review in food contact materials, such as packaging or processing equipment, if they are not carcinogenic, and are added at levels below 0.5 parts per billion (ppb). Continue reading...

Global Threads research project reveals how slavery hung like a spectre' over the Peterloo massacre and other Mancunian struggles for equalityThey were the killings that changed Britain, paving the way for working-class people's right to vote, as well as leading to the founding of the Manchester Guardian. In the Peterloo massacre of 1819, peaceful protesters were shot and trampled to death by the Manchester and Salford Yeomanry at St Peter's Field in the city.A study by Global Threads, a public history project, has examined how the exploitation of Africans enslaved in the Caribbean was linked with the struggles of cotton workers at Peterloo. Though these workers were divided by thousands of miles and led different lives, they were exploited by the same forces - as Robert Wedderburn, a Black abolitionist in London, said at the time. Continue reading...

Leftwing Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores beats far-right candidate in election in remote district of AndesA businessman called Hitler Mussolini Simeon Flores has been elected the mayor of a remote district in the Peruvian Andes, according to local election data.The 45-year-old, who shares two of his names with the notorious European dictators, won the race for mayor of Queropalca, in Peru's central Huanuco region, and will take office on 1 January. Continue reading...

Ellie Chowns says vote for Zionism is racism' policy by 0.4% of members shows party processes are not workingA Green Party MP has said she wants to make sure her party is not vulnerable to capture by extremists and racists" amid the continuing fallout from the Zionism is racism" vote.The party faces a political maelstrom over its policy decision last week to treat Zionism, the movement for a Jewish state, as any other form of racism, and to back a single Palestinian state over a two-state solution. The motion was passed at the annual party conference with just over 1,000 votes, approximately 0.4% of the total membership. Continue reading...

Democrat in Congress since 1983 rebuked over dangerous' campaign ad - will it harm her chances in tight Ohio race?Last month, Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in congressional history, released a video advertisement in which she looks directly at the camera and says exactly what she thinks about one of the most divisive issues facing Democrats today.Here's the truth: I voted with Republicans to keep transgender ideology out of our schools because parents know what's best for their kids," Kaptur says, and boys should not play in girls' sports." Continue reading...

Order for workers to remain standing to reinforce professionalism' draws rebuke amid plunging moraleUnion officials have launched a campaign to allow airport security staff to sit once more after the Trump administration unilaterally removed all the chairs for Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff at checkpoints.People are pissed," said Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) TSA council 100 and president of AFGE local 1040, which represents TSA workers in Dallas-Fort Worth. Continue reading...

Marsala on island's west coast badly affected after powerful storm approached from MediterraneanTwo tornadoes have struck the coastal town of Marsala in western Sicily, injuring dozens of people, damaging buildings including a school, and overturning cars.A series of videos began to circulate on Friday morning showing two waterspouts approaching the Sicilian town from the sea as people braced for their arrival. Continue reading...

Students say they are desperate to get back to class but conditions are so bad that the protests must continueOn a normal school day, Mohammed, 17, wakes at 6am, cares for his younger siblings to help his single mother who works as a security guard, then takes two crowded buses and a local train to get to his high school in Sevran, a low-income banlieue town in the suburbs north-east of Paris.There aren't enough chairs or desks to go round, so some students have to stand up," Mohammed said. Classes can be so packed you can't interact with the teacher. In this year's heatwaves, it felt like 40 degrees in overcrowded classrooms with no shade or curtains. It was so hot my brain couldn't function." Continue reading...

Some say party risks looking twee' by focusing on small fixes amid growing nervousness that budget lacks ambitionIn the days since Labour's annual conference, party insiders have been sharing a word cloud produced by the pollsters More in Common, which shows the phrases voters most associate with Andy Burnham.Such polling is rarely flattering for politicians, and the prime minister's version had its fair share of negatives. But one of the most prominent words in the cloud - and the one that has caught the imagination of Labour strategists - was trying". Continue reading...

Competition is hotting up, with National Savings & Investments lifting rates to the highest in yearsNational Savings and Investments (NS&I) has increased the returns on some of its accounts, with many now paying more than 5% for the first time in nearly three years.Competition in the savings market has been growing, leading to some of the highest interest rates for years. Continue reading...

Only very small number' of people already in Lebanon or Jordan will be referred, says organisation running schemeThe Home Office is facing claims it gave false hope to the people of Gaza after it emerged that a new safe route for Palestinian refugees will only be open to those who have already escaped to Lebanon or Jordan.Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, announced the reopening of a resettlement scheme for refugees at Labour's annual conference last month. A statement from her department said: Around one in four referrals will be for Afghan women and girls and Palestinian refugees, fleeing war and persecution." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Former minister's review warns that dramatic action is needed over huge drop in youth apprenticeship startsA national apprenticeship readiness scheme should be introduced in England to close the gap for young people between leaving school and starting work, the government is to be told.Alan Milburn, who is leading a major review into Britain's youth jobs crisis, will call for a new national pre-apprenticeship route" to offer young people further education, training and work experience. Continue reading...

Governors of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida declare states of emergency as a downsized Fema faces first major testHurricane Isaias crashed into the US Gulf coast on Friday as a dangerous category 2 storm, hammering communities in Alabama and the Florida panhandle with damaging winds, heavy rain, flooding and life-threatening storm surges.The first hurricane of the Atlantic season made landfall near Destin, Florida, the National Hurricane Center said. It had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (169 kph). The storm weakened to just below major hurricane status before it came ashore. Continue reading...

The hurricane is first in the Atlantic in what has turned into a very late season. Here's what forecasters are saying about where Isaias will hit and how hardHurricane Isaias, which made landfall on the US Gulf coast Friday night, was forecast to bring a dangerous storm surge, significant rainfall, flooding and strong winds across the US Gulf coast this weekend. Millions of people across several states, including Florida, Georgia and Alabama, were under evacuation orders as officials prepared for the storm. All three states issued states of emergency.The hurricane, the first in the Atlantic in what has turned into a very late 2026 season, made landfall as a category 2 storm, with sustained winds of 105 mph. Continue reading...

Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, 30 and 33, and friend Carter Rhoad, 30, were killed on a surfing trip in 2024

Alabama, Florida and Mississippi declare emergencies, with preparations under way for long-duration power outages'Hurricane Isaias neared landfall Friday evening, barreling toward the US Gulf coast coast as a dangerous category 2 storm and prompting emergency declarations in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.The hurricane, the first in the Atlantic in what has turned into a very late 2026 season, is expected to cause a life-threatening storm surge", officials said. Isaias is forecast to make landfall on Friday night, somewhere along the western Florida Panhandle, with surging seas up to about 7ft (2.1 meters) and waves as high as 30ft (9.1 meters). Continue reading...

The quake caused buildings and roads to collapse but the country appeared to escape widespread destruction or deathsA magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Panama on Friday, damaging buildings and sending thousands into the streets, but the country appeared to escape widespread destruction or deaths.The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the earthquake hit at a depth of 12.6km (7.8 miles), with an epicenter in a sparsely populated area about 200km (124 miles) from the capital, Panama City. It lasted about a minute. Continue reading...

Unions tell government to fix overbearing mess' of inspection regime and its impact on staff wellbeing - or risk industrial actionTensions between England's headteachers and Ofsted are developing into a crisis after school leadership unions said they had no confidence in the watchdog and would hold strike ballots unless significant wellbeing issues" caused by Ofsted's inspections regime were fixed.The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), which includes senior leaders in many secondary schools, described Ofsted's inspection system as an overbearing mess" and urged the government to pause inspections to stop teachers leaving the profession. Continue reading...

With GLP-1s to treat the condition not specifically approved by the TGA, patients are being prescribed them off-label

Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchersA controversial research trial that will withhold hepatitis B vaccines from some African newborns was given approval to move forward this week.It is a central part of the vaccine vision for Robert F Kennedy Jr, the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and a longtime vaccine opponent. Continue reading...

Hammam al-Hammami is believed to have been targeting the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion airport near Tel AvivThe co-pilot who tried to seize control of a passenger jet flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv last week was planning to launch a suicide attack targeting the passenger terminal at Israel's international airport, prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates said on Friday.Hammam al-Hammami attacked the plane's Indian pilot with an emergency axe, but failed to prevent his badly injured colleague from opening the cockpit's security door to allow passengers to overpower his assailant. Continue reading...

Actor was robbed of his watch after being struck in the head by two attackers wielding a gun and a knifeThe Pretty Little Liars actor Keegan Allen was battered and robbed by attackers wielding a knife and gun in West Hollywood, he said on Thursday in a social media video showing him bloodied and alarmed.The Los Angeles county sheriff's department confirmed in a statement shared with news outlets that it was investigating a violent robbery matching the weapons, block and time described by Allen on social media, where users responded with shock and supportive comments. Continue reading...

US president renews his efforts to oust Cook despite supreme court ruling that her firing was unconstitutionalDonald Trump announced on Friday that he is establishing a committee to investigate Lisa Cook, the US Federal Reserve governor, over allegations that she committed mortgage fraud, renewing his efforts to oust her despite a June supreme court ruling that her earlier firing was unconstitutional.Trump said a committee will consult with justice department officials to decide whether there is cause" for her removal. The White House will hold an in-person hearing on 5 November to consider the allegations against Cook, which will be closed to the public but transcribed and published. Cook will be able to submit a written statement to present her own evidence and will be subject to examination from White House and her own legal counsel. Continue reading...

Tories said to be ready to fight in Clacton, with standards investigation rumoured to be nearing its endNigel Farage's rivals are gearing up for a byelection in Clacton in the months ahead, amid speculation that the standards inquiry into his 5m gift is nearing a conclusion.Conservative sources said the party was ready to fight in Farage's seat, although senior figures in the shadow cabinet are divided about whether it would be winnable, given Farage's victory in a byelection over the summer. Continue reading...

Men found inside RAF Molesworth, used by US and Nato for intelligence, freed on strict conditions as police continue investigationTwo Latvian men have been released on bail after being arrested at an RAF base in Cambridgeshire used by the US military and Nato.The two men, aged 32 and 26, were arrested at 2am on Thursday after they were discovered inside RAF Molesworth in Cambridgeshire, which is used by the US military and Nato for intelligence operations. Continue reading...

Governor halts execution of William Lee Thompson, after Christa Pike survived failed lethal injectionsRon DeSantis cancelled a planned execution in the state on Friday, days before a 74-year-old man was due to be killed by lethal injection.The move - the first time Florida's governor has withdrawn a death warrant in his nearly eight years in office - comes just over a week after the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. Continue reading...

Party now polling 15 points above Greens, who had been ahead of Labour before Keir Starmer resigned as PMLabour is starting to win back voters on the left who became disillusioned under Keir Starmer's leadership, the party's deputy leader has claimed after it saw off Zack Polanski and the Greens to win the Holborn and St Pancras byelection.Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali took 45% of a relatively low turnout to keep Starmer's old north London seat for the party, pushing Polanski, who had stood for the party he leads, into second place on 33%. Continue reading...

Treasury spokesperson Charlie Maynard reportedly resigned in attempt to unseat leader as party slips in pollsEd Davey is facing a growing revolt against his leadership of the Liberal Democrats, after the resignation of a senior frontbench figure on Friday.Charlie Maynard, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, has resigned in an attempt to unseat Davey after months of frustration over concerns that the party is failing to cut through with voters, the Guardian understands. Continue reading...

Pentagon said execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, would be broadcast live

Pressure is building on the party leader after byelection defeat, a damaging row over Zionism and polls that show him less popular than Nigel FarageWhen Zack Polanski addressed his campaigners flush with victory after the Gorton and Denton byelection in February, he declared: Labour's electoral stranglehold is over." The election of Hannah Spencer as the new Green MP for the Greater Manchester seat was a seismic victory, he continued: I said we were here to replace Labour and this is what replacing looks like."But in the wake of Polanski's defeat in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection on Thursday, and a calamitous row over the party's stance on Zionism, the debate around what, or who, could be replaced has shifted to Polanski himself. Continue reading...

Committee recognises work of South African who chaired UN commission that concluded Israel was guilty of genocide in GazaThe Nobel peace prize has been awarded to Navi Pillay, the South African former UN human rights chief who chaired the UN commission that concluded Israel was guilty of genocide in Gaza.The Norwegian Nobel committee said Pillay, who is serving as a judge at the international court of justice (ICJ), has shown that legal measures can help prevent acts of war and violence". Continue reading...

Decades of volunteering combined with years of active local party politics propels Abdi-Wali to victory over Green leader Zack PolanskiFor Sagal Abdi-Wali, the new MP for Holborn and St Pancras, being elected to replace Keir Starmer in the north London constituency is deeply personal", she said in her acceptance speech.The 43-year-old has lived in the area since the 1990s when, as a seven-year-old, she fled war-torn Somalia with her mother and four brothers, eventually settling in Gospel Oak in Camden, which largely falls within the constituency. Her journey from refugee to member of parliament was one which she hoped would inspire people who look like me", she said. This is Camden and this is Britain." Continue reading...

The MP says that passing the motion has done genuine damage; to the party's reputation

Trump administration says US doesn't need' ICC after accusing court of unfairly targeting Americans for war crime chargesThe United States imposed sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC), its latest escalation against an entity the Trump administration has accused of politicization and unfairly targeting Americans for war crime charges.The ICC accused Donald Trump's officials of attempting to obstruct the course of justice" after an assault" on the international legal order. Continue reading...

The ICC's deputy prosecutor condemned the sanctions and said they would not halt the tribunal's workYou can watch along below, but I will bring you all the key lines here.Spoiler alert (not really). Continue reading...

Brussels says Beijing's shipments could fall by more than half over four years, cutting millions of vehicles amid fears for European jobsThe EU said it has reached a landmark deal with China to halve" its sales of hybrid cars in the bloc amid fears surging sales could kill off parts of the European car industry.Trade commissioner Maro efovi said the deal was the first of its kind and the result of intense" negotiations with China since June to curb a trade deficit of 1.18bn (1bn) a day, which has caused mounting tensions between the two economic powers. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Federal government under scrutiny as documents reveal serious security lapses at Melbourne and Villawood immigration detention centres

Only Iran and Afghanistan routinely carry out sentences in public, with Saudi Arabia appearing to have ended practice

Saber is expected to fetch at least $1m and is one of more than two dozen props that will be up for saleA lightsaber used by Darth Vader in the duel where he tells Luke Skywalker I am your father" is going up for sale at Heritage Auctions next month.The Vader saber, also used in Return of the Jedi, is expected to fetch at least $1m. It is one of more than two dozen lightsaber props that will be up for sale at the auction that spans Star Wars Episodes I through IX and other films and TV shows from the universe George Lucas created. Continue reading...

Reform UK shadow chancellor seeks to associate Tory leader with metropolitan elite as party relations sour further

Gang broke into cellar of Marchesi Antinori in Cortona and loaded two trucks with 30,000 bottles before getawayThousands of bottles of wine worth 5m (4.2m) have been stolen from a prestigious winery in Tuscany in what is thought to be the biggest heist of its kind in Italy.A gang of at least seven masked individuals broke into the cellar of Marchesi Antinori, a family-owned winery dating back to the late 1300s, in Cortona after shutting off the alarms and surveillance cameras before using company forklifts to load two large trucks with 30,000 bottles of wine and making off. Continue reading...

Founder of influential Rybar blog detained after warnings of attempts to destabilise Balkan country, officials sayA leading pro-Kremlin Russian military blogger with reported ties to Russia's intelligence services has been arrested in Montenegro, after warnings of attempts to destabilise the Balkan country, officials have said.Mikhail Zvinchuk, the founder of the influential Rybar war blog, was detained on Friday alongside his wife and three other Russians by police and security agents in the Adriatic resort town of Risan, on suspicion of spreading Russian influence, local media reported. Continue reading...

Online retailer's 26% jump sharpens focus on exemption letting cheap parcels into the country duty-freeShein, the online fast-fashion retailer founded in China, increased sales in the UK by just over a quarter last year, overtaking its British rival Asos.The company, whose global parent group listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange valued at just over $26bn (19.6bn) last month, increased sales at its UK division by 26% to 2.58bn, according to accounts filed at Companies House. Continue reading...

Attack is deadliest in kingdom since it launched major military offensive with allies against Houthis in YemenThree Saudi citizens have been killed and several other people were wounded in attacks targeting Riyadh airport for which Yemen's Houthis claimed responsibility, Saudi officials have said.The attack late on Thursday was the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces in neighbouring Yemen launched a major military offensive last weekend against the Iran-backed Houthis. Continue reading...

Gulf officials say they are ready for storm but concerns raised about restructured agency's ability to respond effectivelyGulf state officials say they are prepared for Hurricane Isaias, but the storm could be the first major test of Fema's ability to deploy a large surge workforce after the Trump administration's sweeping cuts and restructuring of the agency, emergency management experts say.The Trump administration has said it wants to eliminate, or drastically downsize, Fema, putting more burden on states. More than 4,300 employees left the agency in fiscal year 2025, about 17% of the workforce, according to a recent US government accountability office (GAO) report. The agency's staffing reductions were not carried out systematically to ensure Fema could still meet its statutory obligations, said Chris Currie, director of homeland security and justice at the GAO. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Abena Oppong-Asare urges chancellor to unlock billions of pounds, as housing associations say they could build 41,000 homes in 10 yearsThe Labour chair of the Commons housing committee is urging John Healey to bring forward billions of pounds of planned spending on social and affordable homes in England, after housing associations said they were ready to build tens of thousands more.Abena Oppong-Asare called for the chancellor to allocate money from the 39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) as soon as possible, rather than after the election as planned. Continue reading...