World news | The Guardian

Sagal Abdi-Wali defeats Green party leader Zack Polanski to retain the Holborn and St Pancras seat for Labour

The winner will be announced in a ceremony that starts at 10am UK time (11am CEST)We will learn the name of the winner today, but the official award-giving ceremony only will be in December - on 10 December, to be precise, the day of Nobel's death.That's been the tradition since the first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901. Continue reading...

Victory by Sagal Abdi-Wali in north London seat will reassure Andy Burnham in high-stakes battle for left of British politics

Questions raised over AI growth as ChatGPT maker forecasts this year's revenue at $50bn, way below the $70bn signalled beforeOpenAI has revealed that it is making about $20bn less in projected revenue than it had recently indicated to investors, raising questions about the break-neck growth rate in demand for AI.The ChatGPT-maker company has told investors that its revenues for this year would reach $50bn (37bn), a projection based on sales up to the end of September. Continue reading...

Former Labour deputy leader says tech firm would work with a Reform UK government on immigration crackdownsTom Watson, the former Labour deputy leader who recently joined Palantir, has warned against mob rule" when it comes to awarding public contracts.Lord Watson, now a senior vice-president at the US tech corporation, said UK ministers could get themselves in a lot of trouble" as he was questioned about concerns raised about the government working with his new employer. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Theresa Musgrove unearths newspaper archives showing one Alice Shepherd was severely punished in 1836 for similarly innocent requestCould a consumptive young woman called Alice Shepherd have been the inspiration for Oliver Twist? That is a question now being posed by a historian, who has discovered parallels between the brutality suffered by a real-life pauper incarcerated in one of Victorian London's notorious workhouses and Charles Dickens's fictional orphan.In researching a new book on Dickens, Theresa Musgrove unearthed 1836 newspaper reports on Alice Shepherd, who endured starvation and solitary confinement within a workhouse in Hendon, after a magistrate ruled she was to be punished for daring to ask for permission to take a walk. Continue reading...

It may sound odd to think Zack Polanski would be happy with second place, but after his most challenging week in politics, it could have been worse

Global sportswear brand is suing online retailer in the federal court for selling clothes featuring deceptively similar' design

Exclusive: Badenoch's flagship conference policy document cites 957bn estimate, twice the total in climate advisers' dataKemi Badenoch's flagship party conference policy document overestimated the cost of net zero by nearly 500bn, seemingly after someone accidentally double-counted figures on a spreadsheet.The apparent error appears in a chapter on net zero in The Right Way, a 100-page policy document produced for the Conservative conference in Birmingham. Badenoch repeatedly used the phrase in her main speech. Continue reading...

Group plans to launch services from London in 2030 and hopes to outshine competitor with design inspiration from its airline, cruise and hotel armsFlash interiors, fancy food and maybe even a bar: Virgin has unveiled a mock-up of its future cross-Channel train, with a pledge to create something genuinely new".The group is planning to launch rail services from London to the continent in 2030, with Eurostar facing competition for the first time since the opening of the Channel tunnel. Continue reading...

Employee had also been in Bali when he told his manager he was working from home, Fair Work Commission hears

Exclusive: Firms made more than 340m last year from processing industrial and commercial wastewater at sewage works that are unable to remove many chemical pollutantsWater companies in the UK made more than 340m in revenue last year by pouring billions of litres of industrial and commercial wastewater into sewage treatment works that experts say are not designed to remove most chemicals, leaving pollutants to pass into rivers, seas and farmland.Water companies are required by law to take industrial wastewater and issue permits called trade-effluent consents" that allow businesses to send it to sewage works, though water companies can refuse applications. Continue reading...

Decision by Royal College of Pharmacy to end sponsorship comes after concerns over Teva Pharmaceuticals' activities'A second major UK health body has cut ties with an Israeli drug firm after coming under pressure from pro-Palestine campaigners.The Royal College of Pharmacy has dropped Teva UK, the British arm of the global medicines producer Teva Pharmaceuticals, as a sponsor of and exhibitor at its annual conference next month. Continue reading...

Matsadaash staff allege torture and forced confessions after being held on charges of working for Muslim BrotherhoodEgyptian journalists are planning a new protest in Cairo this weekend after six colleagues were charged with terrorism offences amid allegations they had been tortured in police detention.Last week, Egyptian authorities arrested the journalists, from the independent factchecking and investigative platform Matsadaash, accusing them in a statement of being unlicensed and producing false news on behalf of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Continue reading...

Species with leaves large enough to be seen from space is already critically endangered - and plans are afoot to protect itA chance social media encounter has led to the race-against-time discovery of a new species of giant waterlily that has until now been hidden in the depths of Colombia's jungle.But the plant, which is so huge it is visible from space, is already considered critically endangered. Continue reading...

Saudi Arabia has not commented on claims, but confirmed three killed in airport strikes earlier this weekYemen's Iran-aligned Houthis say they have struck Saudi Arabia's Riyadh airport with a ballistic missile, badly damaging a plane and leading some airlines to suspend flights to the capital.The group provided no evidence, and Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the claim. Continue reading...

State planning minister declares project state significant', wresting approval process away from local councilPlans for a grand new public square in the centre of Sydney are in doubt after the New South Wales planning minister declared the project state significant", wresting the approval process away from the City of Sydney.The lord mayor, Clover Moore, released renders in August for the plaza opposite Sydney's town hall. The design for the space, which the council had expected to be completed by 2031, include a semi-circular clearing projecting eastwards towards Hyde park, with a fountain and a grove of native trees. Continue reading...

Thousands expected to march in Delhi on Saturday, as anger mounts over controversial changes to voter lists in world's largest democracyIndia's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which began as a satirical movement but is now emerging as a political force among gen Z's, says authorities have begun detaining its members en masse days before a major anti-government protest in Delhi.Opposition parties, their student units, and the Cockroach" youth movement have been holding almost daily demonstrations seeking the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a controversial revision of voter lists. Continue reading...

Making its southern hemisphere debut, Dance Reflections will feature collaborators of Rosalia, Madonna and Beyonce - and a high-wire takeover of the Cutaway

Treasurer earmarks funds for year-long transition period for tax office, delaying ban's 30 November start dateA controversial ban on credit card payments on tax bills will be delayed by more than six months, after the federal government overruled the tax office and announced new stopgap funding.Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced on Friday extra funding on Friday, after days of criticism and calls from small business to halt the ban. Continue reading...

Contest seen as test of Andy Burnham's ability to unite Labour voters amid threat from Green party's Zack PolanskiPolls have closed in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, a contest seen as a test of whether Andy Burnham can unite Labour's voters or whether Zack Polanski can peel off support from the party's progressive flank.Labour is seeking to retain Keir Starmer's former north London seat, where he won a majority of more than 11,000 votes in the 2024 general election. Continue reading...

Schools blockaded again across country as teenagers and teachers demand more investment and concrete measures' to improve conditionsHigh school students have again blockaded schools and marched through cities across France, promising to continue their campaign against the poor state of the national education system in the tenth day of protests that have left hundreds injured.Large crowds took to the streets on Thursday for mainly peaceful demonstrations in cities including Lille, Rennes, Nantes, Lyon, Toulon and Marseille, while in Paris a large procession marched through the city centre to the Place de la Bastille. Continue reading...

Men aged 32 and 36 detained on suspicion of trespass, causing criminal damage and entering a prohibited placeTwo Latvian men were arrested in the early hours of Thursday after they were discovered inside the perimeter of RAF Molesworth, a Cambridgeshire base used by the US military and Nato for intelligence operations.The men, 32 and 36, were picked up at 2am inside the base, in an investigation that began four hours earlier when military police discovered an abandoned vehicle outside the facility. Continue reading...

Martin and Debra Robinson, the brothers' parents, will address the court before a Mexican judge hands down the verdictA Mexican judge is expected to hand down his verdict on Thursday in the high-profile murder trial of three men accused of killing two Australian surfers and their American friend in 2024.Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33 respectively, and their friend Carter Rhoad, 30, were on a surfing trip to Mexico's Pacific coast when they were shot dead in Baja California state in an alleged robbery. Continue reading...

Free-roaming Aldabra population far exceeds human population of Seychelles after decades-long recovery programmeA survey of the world's largest free-roaming giant tortoise population has discovered that the once endangered species is thriving.A population of Aldabra giant tortoises lives on an island in Seychelles called Aldabra Atoll. Continue reading...

Rally to remember woman, 87, whose rent battle with investment firm triggered nationwide protests over housing crisisAbout 20,000 people took part in a march through the centre of Madrid on Thursday evening in memory of Maria del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old woman whose eviction from her flat in the capital a fortnight before her death triggered mass protests over Spain's housing crisis.The pensioner, whose flat had been bought by an investment firm that sought to increase her rent by 230%, had become the public face of the crisis before her death in hospital on Wednesday night. Continue reading...

Intelligence specialist Teddy Young, 24, alleged to have drafted message in Russian containing classified informationA junior Royal Navy intelligence specialist from Bedfordshire accused of trying to pass military secrets to Russia appeared in court on Thursday.Teddy Young, 24, was accused of abusing his high-level security clearance to access secret defence and intelligence data after being deployed on a warship. Continue reading...

Ousted Venezuelan president and Cilia Flores have been in jail in New York since early JanuaryThe deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted for alleged conspiracy to commit torture, according to Manhattan federal court papers unsealed on Thursday.The superseding indictment was unsealed shortly before Flores appeared at court in her ongoing push for pretrial release - which was denied by Judge Alvin Hellerstein. Maduro and Flores have been jailed in New York City since early January. Continue reading...

Intense flash of radio waves is more than 10bn years old and has travelled through approximately 80% of cosmic history'A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a mysterious flash of energy was released into the universe.Astronomers have now detected that flash, a burst of radio waves which travelled for more than 10bn years before reaching Earth - what they believe to be the most distant fast radio burst (FRB) ever recorded. Continue reading...

Lawyer for CNN, MS Now and Politico says Trump admitted he banned networks from White House over their coverageDonald Trump continues to be the strongest witness for the media companies arguing that they were unfairly barred from the White House at his direction, a lawyer representing CNN, MS Now and Politico told a federal judge on Thursday afternoon.The media coalition was in court asking the judge to extend the temporary restraining order (TRO) he issued on 24 September requiring the White House to lift the ban for 14 days. That temporary reprieve was scheduled to expire on Thursday, but district court judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, said he would extend it until Tuesday and that he would probably rule on a motion for a preliminary injunction by that day. That means the White House will be forced to allow journalists from CNN, MS Now and Politico to continue accessing the building until at least Tuesday. Continue reading...

Embassies post links to hastily produced online film echoing style of real Guardian documentary about mass killings of Gaza civiliansThe Israeli government is promoting an online film project that mimics the style of NAZA, the award-winning documentary that details Israel's mass killings of civilians in Gaza, in an attempt to counter the real film's findings.The real documentary, directed by Oscar-winning film-makers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, and produced by the Guardian, is in cinemas and will be shown in more than 50 countries. Continue reading...

Finance expert launches Small Ideas Initiative to gather practical, low-cost' ideas to put before cross-party panelEvery day, people run into what the finance expert Martin Lewis calls the life-potholes of unintended consequences" - clunky systems and poorly conceived rules that make things harder than they should be. His latest project, the Small Ideas Initiative, will attempt to address that, with a cross-party panel of politicians and policymakers crowdsourcing ideas for everyday fixes to take to government.The ideas could cover anything, from health and schools to policing, tech and money. Lewis is encouraging people to submit ideas for practical, low-cost, non-controversial ways to improve the UK" before 12 November. Continue reading...

UK and Israel back away from full diplomatic confrontation, though British presence in Palestine will be much reduced

Andrew Bailey tells chancellor whatever the stance of fiscal policy, it must be credible and be seen as such by financial markets'

Exclusive: Letter to PM, also signed by Sally Phillips, says reforms will unfairly remove children's legal protections

Protesters are gathering in Paris to rally against government policies on school and educationin AthensOver in Athens, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has been forced, yet again, to address allegations of misconduct by Kimberly Guilfoyle, America's ambassador to Greece. Continue reading...

Judge makes ruling after former prince brought judicial review of operation linked to Jeffrey Epstein investigationAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor has won his legal challenge against Thames Valley police over search warrants that led to his arrest.The former prince brought a judicial review of the legality of the force's actions and those of the central criminal court, which granted the warrants. Continue reading...

Thinking Allowed, The Artificial Human and Free Thinking among other programmes hit by 500m cutsBBC Radio 4's consumer rights show You and Yours is to be axed after more than 50 years, becoming one of the latest victims of the corporation's 500m cuts plan.The programme, once described by the former Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer as one of the most important" on the station, is one of a handful to be cut as the BBC searches for shows that can be more easily adapted as podcasts. Continue reading...

Voters choosing replacement for Keir Starmer, who announced he was standing down last monthThe UK's military is too focused on global commitments at the expense of domestic defence, meaning the government's planned increase in defence spending is likely to result in even greater waste, a thinktank report has warned.According to an analysis by researchers at the Transition Security Project, Britain has the most overseas-oriented military among European nations, with almost a quarter of the defence budget spent on commitments across five continents. Continue reading...

Jane Adetoro, Christina Walters and Rebecca Walters from London visited late mother's former home shortly before their deaths in MayThree sisters who drowned in the sea in Brighton collectively decided to end their own lives, a coroner has ruled.The bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, all from London, were recovered from the sea off Brighton in the early hours of 13 May.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Recent death of 87-year-old woman likely to focus attention on crisis in run-up to election at end of November

Governor says Kremlin deliberately targeting civilians' after strike in Kramatorsk, which also wounded 18 and set second bus on fire

Exclusive: Thinktank says Britain's drive towards global commitments is symptom of outdated foreign policy'The UK's military is too focused on global commitments at the expense of domestic defence, meaning the government's planned increase in defence spending is likely to result in even greater waste, a thinktank report has warned.According to an analysis by researchers at the Transition Security Project, Britain has the most overseas-oriented military among European nations, with almost a quarter of the defence budget spent on commitments across five continents. Continue reading...

Regulator also vetoes extra Blackpool service, saying insufficient space for new direct trains to London

Researchers found five events, including Russia's invasion of Ukraine, caused serious damage to mental wellbeing across UKBrexit, Liz Truss's mini-budget and other shocks" over the last 10 years have led to a serious and lasting deterioration in the UK population's mental health, research has found.Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the first and second Covid lockdowns also triggered big rises in psychological distress, as measured by the number of people with depression and anxiety. Continue reading...

Sales rise 2% to 33.8bn in the past six months, helped by strong trade online

More than half of US students surveyed said the problem damaged their ability to do academic work, study findsProcrastination is the biggest problem that can harm students' academic performance at university, according to a study of more than 65,000 young people who placed it above issues such as ADHD, anxiety or financial worries.The study found that nearly half of the students surveyed named procrastination as the thing damaging their ability to do academic work, more than twice the number who named depression, while the same proportion said procrastination caused them significant distress above any other problems including family pressures or bullying. Continue reading...

Zack Polanski has led energetic campaign for the Greens, while Labour will hope to hold on to Starmer's old seatVoting has opened in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, a contest seen as a key gauge of Andy Burnham's ability to energise voters and whether Zack Polanski's Greens can still peel off support from Labour's left.Polanski, who leads the Greens in England and Wales, is standing for his party in the north London constituency, previously held by Keir Starmer before he stood down as an MP shortly after resigning as prime minister. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: A youth-led movement is protesting crumbling school buildings and teacher shortages while turning adult focus onto wider educational inequalitiesGood morning. In my experience, at any protest, the most memorable and encapsulating slogans are always the ones written by hand with marker pen on cardboard placards.School is a right, not a privilege," read one such sign held aloft by a student in Paris, where huge youth protests over the state of high school education have brought tens of thousands of young people and adults on to the streets, with further strikes planned today.UK politics | Kemi Badenoch has announced that the Conservatives would abolish inheritance tax on family homes if elected, prompting criticism that she is prioritising cutting taxes for the rich.Education | Labour's flagship changes to special education in England are at risk of unravelling because parents are rushing to secure support for their children before the system changes, new analysis has found.Spain | Maria del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old whose eviction set off a nationwide wave of protests against Spain's housing crisis, has died.Science | A type of gene therapy based on Nobel prize-winning science is safe and can partly restore sight in blind people, researchers have revealed.Epstein | British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith warned that Jeffrey Epstein was a sexual deviant" decades before the FBI closed in on the abuser, a Guardian investigation has found. Continue reading...

Police watchdog says Mal Lanyon's timing in raising the issue was regrettable' and led to delays