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Defence secretary's meeting comes after Burnham said he would help facilitate reconciliation between Zelenskyy and TrumpLabour says it's told all of its local councils who share power with the Green Party to review their agreements after the Greens passed a Zionism is Racism" motion at their autumn conference earlier this month.If Green coalition partners don't agree to condemn the policy, the Labour council groups have been instructed to terminate existing power deals.We cannot support a partnership with a party that holds [the] position that has recently been adopted.Now is the time to step up pressure on Putin and step up support for Ukraine."I'm working on different ways we can step up support for Ukraine, military, diplomatic, and economic, and you know, if anybody needed any reminder of that, it's what we see coming out of Ukraine, with Putin targeting these energy systems, leaving thousands without power, as we've got a harsh winter approaching.The future of Ukraine is the future of European security, and that's that's why it's so crucial that Putin doesn't prevail."d Continue reading...

Dire polling for Trump's economy and war in Iran could spell trouble for the Republican Party as it aims to keep control of both chambers of Congress

Ukrainian president warns of dangerous signals about the possibility of further sanctions relief' after Russian strike on a supermarketJust as the leaders sit down at the big table in Brussels, Romania has said that seven people are still missing after a fire on a vessel in Romanian territorial waters of the Black Sea.Suspected Russian drones have hit several ships off Romania and neighbouring Bulgaria since last week in a spillover from the Ukraine war, AFP reported. Continue reading...

Officials issue guidance saying the ammonia in animal urine should be watered down to stop it corroding barkA neighbourhood in Vienna has introduced guidelines for dog walking, including the use of bottled tap water to rinse away urine and protect vulnerable trees.Neubau, an up-and-coming, densely populated district dotted with cafes and galleries, rolled out the Schones Gassi (nice dog walk) campaign this week. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Portsmouth Historic Dockyard's new 15m permanent display tells tales of courage from conflicts such as Crimean and both world warsThey tell tales of bravery under fire, may lead to conversations about the UK's place in the world and could prompt visitors to reflect on what they might have done if faced with the same perilous circumstances.All 10 Victoria Crosses (VCs) awarded to members of the Royal Marines are going on display together for the first time along with tales of courage during conflicts such as the Crimean and both world wars. Continue reading...

Discovery of grenades prompted a neighborhood lockdown and a visit from the Austin police department's bomb squadA buyer at a Texas estate sale discovered several second world war-era grenades in a box of newly bought items, prompting a neighborhood lockdown and a visit from the Austin police department's bomb squad.The grenades, which were described as live and active" in a social media post by the Austin police association, were removed and disarmed. Continue reading...

Talarico casts himself as a moderate who would put Texans' needs over party allegiances amid close contest against Republican Ken PaxtonJames Talarico, the Texas Democratic nominee for Senate, sat face to face with skeptical Republicans and independents voters who grilled him on a slew of contentious issues including Israel's military campaign in Gaza, abortion and foreign aid, during a CNN town hall co-hosted by the Jubilee Media digital platform on Wednesday.One voter, a young Republican activist who volunteered at the party's midterm convention in Dallas last month and recently appeared on Fox News as a supporter of Talarico's opponent, questioned the authenticity of Talarico's faith, referencing a past remark where he described God as nonbinary. Continue reading...

Authorities say suspect, 19, was allegedly planning a mass shooting and had shared a white supremacist manifestoA man arrested in a Chicago suburb had shared a document expressing white supremacist views and outlined an alleged plan to carry out a mass shooting, potentially targeting a Hindu place of worship, police said on Wednesday.Alexandros Paporakis, 19, was arrested on Sunday after an individual reported receiving concerning electronic communications from him, Palatine police said. It was not immediately clear if he had legal representation. Continue reading...

Ex-leader deserves every day of lengthy sentence,' says DUP

Speaking at IMF annual meeting in Bangkok, chancellor says he will stick to fiscal rules while recognising business and living costs

Exclusive: Aleksandar Vui personally intervened to push plans for controversial $500m Trump Tower in Belgrade, which sparked protests and a criminal caseSerbia's authoritarian ruler personally intervened to advance an allegedly illegal scheme to hand over a protected site in Belgrade for a Trump tower, the Guardian can reveal.Aleksandar Vui summoned officials to a meeting at his presidential offices about the project, which has culminated in a landmark indictment of senior figures from his regime on charges of abuse of public office. Continue reading...

Family express concerns about William Chapman's contact with mental health services before his deathA man who was killed by a tiger at a South Yorkshire zoo had bouts of psychosis, his family told an inquest opening, as they expressed concerns about his contact with mental health services before his death.William Chapman was mauled to death by the animal at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster on Saturday, after climbing into its enclosure. Continue reading...

Nearly 61% believe country is in recession and 65% of independents say economy is worse, according to new Harris poll

Move comes after east African country abruptly withdrew returns cooperation earlier this year

At least 320 people detained for acts against nature' after law criminalising homosexuality toughened, HRW reportsMass arrests, forced HIV testing and barriers to legal representation are part of an escalating crackdown against LGBTQ+ people in Senegal, according to a new report.More than 320 individuals have been arrested and detained on allegations of acts against nature" since February, according to HIV Justice Network, an organisation quoted in the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report. Among these, at least 84 were charged with voluntary HIV transmission", solely on the basis of their HIV status. Continue reading...

Western Australian police say woman experienced numbness to her tongue' after tasting the curry at her workplace in Perth

Vice Adm Buckley calls incident an act of sexual violence' and a despicable betrayal of trust'

Animation studio narrows annual loss to 1.1m amid challenging market' in children's contentDon't break out the celebratory Wensleydale just yet. Aardman, the British animation studio behind the cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his beloved dog Gromit, has fallen short of a target to get back in the black, its accounts show.The employee-owned business was aiming to record a small profit in 2025 after two years of consecutive losses but was hit by production delays and a challenging market" in children's content. Continue reading...

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Exclusive: Out-of-pocket costs for abortion care to be covered regardless of who wins November election as Jess Wilson says Liberals and Nationals will not allow Labor to play politics on this issue'

Inquest into death of Queensland girl denied insulin by her religious parents is told Kerrie Struhs believed God would heal her daughter

Latest data comes just two weeks before chancellor's budget looks to help consumers traverse the cost of living crisisThe UK economy unexpectedly continued to grow in August despite a fall in consumer spending before chancellor John Healey's budget.Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.1% last month, compared with 0.4% growth in July. City economists had forecast the economy would shrink by 0.1%. Continue reading...

Defra promised in March to work towards free access to data on large plots in England and WalesThe government has refused to say when the public will be able to freely access information about who owns large plots of land across England and Wales.Emma Reynolds, the previous secretary of state for the environment, announced in March that the paywall protecting large amounts of the Land Registry would be partly lifted. Continue reading...

Prime minister presents new kind of challenge for SNP, and his Scottish visit will loom large over its big eventThis year, even Andy Burnham is invited to the Scottish National party conference. But by the time John Swinney stands up to address members on Saturday afternoon in Aberdeen to reinvigorate the case for a second independence referendum, his party may regret giving the UK prime minister so much prominence in the conference buildup.Burnham is expected to visit Scotland on Friday - the middle of the event - in a thinly veiled attempt to overshadow the SNP gathering. While he will be in a different venue, the former Manchester mayor's presence in Scotland will loom large over the event. Since taking over at No 10 in July, Burnham has largely avoided direct confrontations with his political rivals, rarely attacking Nigel Farage or Kemi Badenoch. But he has taken a different approach with the Scottish first minister. Continue reading...

In the final part of our series on the country, Poles tell how wages have soared - along with the cost of livingAbove the rain-soaked streets of Warsaw, the observation deck of the Varso tower overlooks Joseph Stalin's gift to Poland that has divided opinion for decades.For some, the Soviet-era Palace of Culture and Science is a drunk confectioner's nightmare; standing as a relic of oppression that should have been demolished. For others, it is an icon on the skyline and a monumental warning from history. Continue reading...

Stacey Parker was contacted following alleged murders, years after meeting Lamarre-Condon in Sydney and bonding over scepticism of Covid vaccines

Communications minister rebuts claims that Labor's digital duty of care laws would lead to government control of speech

Having tried cloud seeding and water bombing, one pilot project will see dry ice dispersed by plane across the province of South SumatraAs fires ravage Indonesia, emitting a toxic smoke that has drawn the ire of regional neighbours, the government is testing an unusual new approach to tackle the haze: dry ice.Having tried cloud seeding, water bombing and sending in army personnel to fight the fires, Indonesia's coordinating security minister said dry ice would be dropped on the province of South Sumatra on Thursday. Continue reading...

Steele-John said he rejected the claims and had referred them to the Western Australian Greens for a fair, independent process'Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has taken leave from the party room after complaints were made, triggering an independent review.The Nine newspapers reported on Thursday afternoon that seven party members demanded an investigation into allegations he made inappropriate comments to a number of women. Continue reading...

Lyrical lines printed on side of city's fleet of rubbish trucks now recognised as one of Netherlands' proud traditionsIt is best known for its rich migration history and striking modern architecture. But now the Dutch city of Rotterdam is seeking recognition for a rather different characteristic: its tradition of printing poetry on bin trucks.Since a poetry festival first came up with the idea in 1988, lines of verse have been printed on all of the city's waste vehicles. The practice was this week elevated to the status of intangible cultural heritage, with formal recognition from a Dutch body that guards the nation's traditions. Continue reading...

Congress approves constitutional amendment that bans six-day workweeks, which could effect up to 30 millionBrazil's congress has approved a constitutional amendment to shorten the working week to a maximum of 40 hours, a move that could affect 30 million workers and that will hand a political victory to the leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of the presidential runoff in under two weeks.In an attempt to overturn the first-round lead secured by his opponent, far-right senator Flavio Bolsonaro, Lula has strongly championed the amendment, which will give some workers an extra day off each week. Continue reading...

Whistleblowers applauded as Ibac finds decisions were made to withhold information about the magnitude of the loss'Senior public servants in one state covered up losses suspected to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars arising from flawed Covid-19 business support payments, an investigation has found.During the pandemic, the Victorian government spent an estimated $257m on support grants to 9,000 ineligible businesses.Follow our Australia politics live blog for latest updates Continue reading...

Liberal Paul Scarr breaks ranks to condemn major parties, saying he will write to Queensland attorney general

Facing the prospect of election defeat, Labor is hoping to make abortion a defining issue as the Liberals attempt to stave off claims they would oversee a rollback

Hugely successful West End show will open at Capitol Theatre in September 2027, with dates in other Australian cities yet to be announced

Government warned that counterfeit tobacco produced by criminal organisations in south-east Asia is becoming more sophisticated

NSW police allege Raymond James Dungay doused three patients in petrol before setting one alight at Prince of Wales hospital in Randwick

Dozens of people detained after government building and two banks set on fire as tens of thousands march over education costs and corruptionTens of thousands of students have taken to the streets of Tirana, the Albanian capital, setting alight a government building and two banks and hurling stones at police during a protest over rising education costs and corruption.Police responded with water cannon and teargas to disperse protesters who started a fire at the ministry of education building, overturned bins and smashed the fronts of local businesses. A branch of Raiffeisen Bank near the education ministry also caught fire. Continue reading...

Resolution Foundation says crude changes' to benefits system would probably make it harder for people to workBanning people with anxiety, ADHD or autism from claiming disability benefits would not deliver major financial savings and would probably make it harder for them to get or stay in a job and participate in society, a leading thinktank has warned.The Resolution Foundation said any proposals to make certain mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions ineligible for personal independence payments (Pip) would be crude changes" aimed at hitting unrealistic savings targets. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president accused US president of picking the other side after four years of warVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said he feels personally betrayed by Donald Trump after it emerged that Ukraine's military has had its access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite squeezed, raising doubts about long-term US support for Kyiv.The Ukrainian president, on a visit to London, accused Trump of picking the other side after more than four years of war, risking a breakdown in relations already strained by the US agreeing to buy diesel from Moscow. Continue reading...

Pontiff has begun walking in his hospital room and is eating normally after operation to remove growth, doctors sayPope Leo's recovery from a lung cancer operation is progressing as planned, his doctors have said, as the pontiff received good wishes from around the world, including from Britain's King Charles.Leo, who had a cancerous mass removed from his right lung late on Tuesday, began walking in his hospital room after respiratory therapy on Wednesday. He was eating normally, his doctors Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritoria said in a statement issued by the Vatican. Continue reading...

Restaurants and pubs such as Nando's and Fuller's will create placements for 18- to 24-year-olds under DWP-backed schemeBars, clubs and restaurants will offer up to 100,000 jobs to young people not in employment, education or training (Neet) over the next three years in an effort to give them a first step on the ladder into work.The move comes before the publication of a report on Neets by the former health secretary Alan Milburn, who has warned that the number of young people not in work or education in the UK could rise to 1.25 million over the next five years unless ministers intervene. Continue reading...

Party faces fresh crisis as three councillors quit after ITV undercover filming exposed violence, misogyny and racist viewsReform UK has been rocked by a fresh crisis after councillors and election candidates for the party were caught on film making graphic threats of extreme violence and expressing racist and misogynistic views.Three councillors have already stood down from the party, which said it was conducting an investigation over the first revelations from an ITV undercover investigation that aired on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Throttling of mobile internet system will affect Kyiv's air defences more than its strikes on oil refineries. Now Zelenskyy must be hoping that US intel holdsIn Ukraine the situation was already jittery enough. Donald Trump has been inventing ceasefires and buying Russian diesel to shore up his flagging popularity, while a sinister new wave of faster, jet-powered drones are breaking through Kyiv's stretched air defences. Casualties are rising as the weather turns.Overnight, Russia bombed three power plants that supply Kyiv, aiming to cut off heating and electricity to the city. According to the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for a second night in a row no warning came from Ukraine's western allies of the incoming ballistic missiles - and so no air raid alert was issued. Continue reading...

A fresh wave of protests by India's youth-led Cockroach movement has been met with a brutal crackdown by Narendra Modi's government and the closure of a historic protest site in Delhi. Two of the movement's leaders have been imprisoned for five days for violating suppression measures. The protests, which began over frustration about education and unemployment, are now focused on voting rights. Modi's government denies claims it is seeking to disenfranchise millions of voters. But its treatment of protesters has been criticised by the UN and Amnesty International and raised concerns that India is sliding further into autocracy. Lucy Hough speaks to South Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen - watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Comedian faces three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six women

Ben Norris says cost-cutting measure that means show will be recorded outside its home city risks extraordinary burden' for crewA cast member of The Archers has said its actors have been angered by the BBC's decision to axe the show's new studio, in a move that could lead to it being recorded away from its home in Birmingham.Ben Norris, who plays Ben Archer in the world's longest-running soap opera, said the decision risked having a real impact on the quality of the show and placing an extraordinary burden" on its crew. Continue reading...

Zelenskyy says he will be discussing intelligence sharing difficulties' and Starlink access with BurnhamPMQs is about to start.Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question.After @genevieve_holl reported this last night, various sources in the Trump administration who are supportive of Farage said Badenoch was needlessly trying to cause a political row (per @katyballs @MrHarryCole) and accused her of undermining the Anglo-American relationship.It is possible that these people are particularly sensitive about this topic because they are still considering buying the islands, as @connorstringer and I reported earlier in the year. Domestic opposition to the idea of the US running Chagos in the UK would be a problem for the White House.Calamity Kemi Strikes Again.Kemi Badenoch has risked causing a diplomatic row with Britain's allies, all because she cannot control the Tory spin doctors around her that oversaw the disastrous premierships of Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, Theresa May, and even David Cameron.Kemi and the Conservatives cannot be trusted by the Chagos people.If they really have interest in the Chagos, why would you have started negotiating about things you already own?We are confused at why @KemiBadenoch is attacking @Nigel_Farage ...We understood Nigel Farage's comments to mean that we would get perpetual use of the base, which, frankly, we've always had. Continue reading...

Vessels were hit by missiles as rise in strikes suggests Iran is trying to close waterway before US midterm electionsTwo container ships near the strait of Hormuz have sunk after being struck by missiles, amid the sharpest rise in Iranian attacks on shipping since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.The increase in attacks suggests Iran is trying to fully close the strategic waterway in an attempt to frustrate Donald Trump's efforts to bring down fuel prices before the US midterm elections on 3 November. Continue reading...

International grouping of China-sceptic legislators warns of risks inherent in misjudging bilateral relationshipThe UK's approach to China is beset by incoherence" and plagued by a lack of senior expertise, according to a report warning of the risks inherent in misjudging the bilateral relationship.Wednesday's audit by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), an international grouping of China-sceptic legislators, says past engagement with Beijing has often exposed the UK to the risks of interference without delivering the opportunities promised. Continue reading...