World news | The Guardian

UK to reassert support for Palestinian rights and a two-state solution in move drawing widespread criticism

Ruslan Kravchenko leaves post after his offices were searched at the weekend, as Zelenskyy says he hopes to meet Trump this monthHungary has asked 10 Russian diplomats who engaged in activities ... that are unacceptable for diplomats under the Vienna Convention" to leave the country, foreign minister Anita Orban said.The decision protects the security and sovereignty of Hungary," she said in a statement on Facebook. Continue reading...

Thieves took four artworks but dropped one as they fled, says mayor of Cagnes-sur-MerTwo thieves have broken into a museum dedicated to the French impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in southern France, stealing four artworks and dropping one as they fled.This morning, two individuals broke into the Renoir Museum and stole four works of art," said Bryan Masson, the mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer. Continue reading...

Saudi authorities said operations at some energy facilities have been attacked by Yemen's Iran-aligned HouthisGas prices are rising this morning, putting pressure on European countries who need to stock up their storage levels before the winter.The month-ahead UK gas price is up around 1% at 184p a therm, close to yesterday's highs when gas hit its highest since January 2023. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Booming industry of businesses profit from shortage of beds for most at-risk children

Draft legislation enforces digital duty of care including limiting children's exposure to misogynistic and eating disorder contentAustralia will allow social media account holders to opt out of the powerful algorithms pushing dangerous and divisive content into users' feeds, part of new laws designed to boost online safety.Users over 16 years of age will be given new tools to turn off algorithm-driven content, with platforms facing fines of more than A$100m for non-compliance. Continue reading...

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Backers seek support for second attempt to get law through House of Lords after undemocratic' rejection last yearMPs on both sides of the assisted dying debate have voiced fears about turnout affecting the vote on Friday, when the bill returns to the Commons for its second attempt to become law.Those who back the change in the law in England and Wales have been emphasising the undemocratic" nature of the bill's rejection by the House of Lords after it was talked out by a handful of peers after passing the House of Commons. The bill fell despite multiple days of debate from peers because of the number of amendments tabled in the Lords. Continue reading...

OECD test sees results dip in almost all member nations and warns of digital distractions' eroding academic skillsEngland's teenagers are outperforming their peers in most countries in maths, reading and science, according to an international survey that warns of digital distractions" eroding academic skills around the world.The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) programme for international student assessment (Pisa), which last year tested 760,000 15-year-olds in 91 countries and regions, found that results dipped in almost all of its members compared with previous years, with the exception of England and a handful of others. Continue reading...

Public school students are the equivalent of two and a half years behind their independent peers, as global report shows decline in reading and maths

Package of military equipment includes Patriot missiles, supplies of which have dwindled amid Russian attacksThe UK has committed 100m to boost Ukraine's air defences over winter with a package of military equipment including Patriot missiles.Defence interceptors, large-calibre artillery rounds and drones will be supplied to Ukraine through the contribution to Nato's prioritised Ukraine requirements list. Continue reading...

India's statistical system once commanded respect, and its data on economic and social indicators was considered rigorous - that appears to have erodedThere isn't much that we Indians agree on these days. GDP numbers are no exception. Last week, India released glowing GDP numbers for the latest quarter - 7.8% growth - higher than the forecast 7%. It sparked a furore.Subhash Garg, a former finance secretary under Narendra Modi's government and now a critic, reframed what Modi called a herculean feat" as mere smoke and mirrors. According to Garg, the government revised last year's current-price GDP downwards to inflate this year's number - he believes the real growth is only 2.6%. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: The AfD's local election triumph has shocked Europe, and raised questions about how to counter the rising far rightGood morning. Across Germany - and Europe more widely - there has been a palpable sense of shock and disbelief after the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) swept to a historic state election victory in the early hours of Monday.It was, according to France's European affairs minister, Benjamin Haddad, a very grave moment for Europe". The resonance was stark in the UK too: as the results came in, hundreds of black-clad activists intent on blocking migrant arrivals were battling with police for a second night along England's south coast.UK news | Batons and synthetic pepper spray were used to repel hundreds of masked, black-clad vigilantes in Portsmouth on Sunday, it has emerged, as the policing minister said officers had been injured as they repelled organised aggression".Israel | Ed Miliband will announce what he has described as a broad reset of the UK's relations with Israel on Tuesday, promising the government will take a more active approach in supporting the Palestinian cause.US | The Trump administration has raised serious concerns" over Downing Street's plan to force digital platforms to hand more prominence to established broadcasters, warning the move risks facilitating censorship".Climate crisis | Nepal is demanding $20m in climate compensation for the recent devastating floods, as a senior minister called on the world's most polluting countries to wake up" and accept shared responsibility.UK politics | There is little appetite for cuts to disability benefits even among Conservative and Reform voters, and proposals to reduce spending could prove politically risky, according to an authoritative national survey. Continue reading...

Shinjuku ward targets accommodation in residential areas and near cultural sites as locals complain visitors disposing of rubbish improperly and being too noisyA neighbourhood in Tokyo popular with foreign tourists will ban visitors from using thousands of short-term rental accommodations after a slew of complaints about behaviour.In the latest sign that Japan's patience with mass tourism is wearing thin, Shinjuku ward - home to the notorious Kabukicho nightlife district and the world's busiest railway station - will prevent visitors from using private lodgings in residential areas and near schools and important cultural sites, Japanese media reported this week. Continue reading...

Liberal MP says One Nation is trying to unseat him because he gave evidence against Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith

In partnership with DWP, firms such as John Lewis and M&S plan to offer 18- to 24-year-olds placements of two to four weeksUK retailers plan to create up to 100,000 short-term placements for young people not in employment, education or training (Neet) over the next three years to give them a first step on the ladder to paid work.In partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), more than 40 retailers, including Marks & Spencer, Pets at Home, Asda and the John Lewis Partnership, will offer Neets aged 18-24 placements of two to four weeks to gain the skills and confidence needed to take their first step into work". Continue reading...

Lawyers also argue commonwealth does not have the power to ban a political party, as the high court ruled in 1951 over attempt to ban the Communist party

Former 2GB and 2UE radio host has denied 22 indecent assault and sexual touching charges

Counter-measures covering several sectors come after Trump announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goodsCanada's retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars' worth of American imports have come into effect, escalating a trade fight that has been marked by intensifying tensions between US president Donald Trump and Canadian prime minister Mark Carney.The tariffs took effect at 12.01am on Tuesday, and range from 15% to 50% and apply to products covering $20bn in imports from the US. The measures target sectors including steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics - industries that have been most affected by US tariffs. Continue reading...

US-Israel war on Iran and political instability in Somalia lead to pirates targeting cargo ships off Horn of AfricaThe scourge of Somali piracy targeting cargo ships and smaller dhows off the Horn of Africa has returned to levels not seen in a decade, driven by a convergence of factors including disruptions to the shipping industry caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran and a resurgence of political instability in Somalia.Since late April there have been eight hijackings by Somali pirates, including two within the space of a fortnight in August: one targeting an oil tanker with ties to Iran, the other a Cameroon-flagged vessel, the Lutuf, carrying military equipment for Turkey. Continue reading...

Nearly half of respondents say spending on personal independence payments should be increasedThere is little appetite for cuts to disability benefits even among Conservative and Reform voters, and proposals to reduce spending could prove politically risky, according to an authoritative national survey.The British Social Attitudes (BSA) report found that while support for welfare spending as a whole had dipped sharply in recent years, just 7% of respondents backed cuts to disability benefits - and 49% said they should be increased. Continue reading...

Mount Isa city council to auction off first of 24 homes after Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Welfare Services accrues almost $1m in unpaid debts

Jim Chalmers says One Nation's superannuation policy is an absolute shambles'

Federal Greens partyroom split over plan for NSW to get millions of dollars' worth in carbon credits for creating a koala national park

Bereaved mother Debra Robinson in court stares at three men accused of murdering Jake and Callum Robinson and Jack Rhoad in Baja California in 2024The suspected murderers of two Australian surfers and an American at a Mexican surfing hotspot have gone on trial, two years after the killings in a suspected robbery.Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson, aged 30 and 33, respectively, and 30-year-old American friend Jack Carter Rhoad were on a surfing trip to Mexico's Pacific coast when they were shot dead in Baja California state. Continue reading...

Foreign minister Shisir Khanal tells the Guardian the world's biggest economies need to help Nepal, which contributes less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissionsNepal is demanding $20m in climate compensation for the recent devastating floods, as a senior minister called on the world's most polluting countries to wake up" and accept shared responsibility for a disaster that led to the death or disappearance of more than 6,000 people.Scientists believe the climate crisis had a role to play in the floods, which were triggered when a melting glacier partially collapsed and set off a deadly landslide and flash flooding through Chinese-controlled Tibet and Nepal in late August. So far, more than 1,300 are confirmed dead and more than 5,500 still missing, with hopes of their survival diminished after 12 days of rescue operations. Continue reading...

OS index examines which urban heat islands' suffer the most - and which cope the best with rising temperaturesPortsmouth, Leicester, Exeter, Bristol and Nottingham will be among the cities that warm the most by the end of this century as global heating turns British cities into urban heat islands, according to research.Analysis from Ordnance Survey (OS) has created a heat vulnerability index for all cities in Great Britain. Portsmouth, which sits on the south coast of England and is home to 208,000 people, is the most vulnerable to extreme heat today and into the future, according to the research from the OS, the Met Office and the data analysis company 4 Earth Intelligence. Continue reading...

Minister condemns groups behind Hampshire disorder and says officers were injured as they repelled aggression'Batons and synthetic pepper spray were used to repel hundreds of masked, black-clad vigilantes in Portsmouth on Sunday, it has emerged, as the policing minister said officers had been injured as they repelled organised aggression".After police contained the weekend's second disruptive demonstration against asylum seekers travelling to the UK in small boats, it was claimed that officers in Hampshire were pushed off their motorbikes and pelted with bricks. Sarah Jones, the Home Office minister, condemned groups behind the disorder for promoting racism and thuggery". Continue reading...

Sarah Jones tells MPs those responsible should expect to face the consequences'Healey says Andy Burnham set out in his statement to MPs last week what he thought had gone wrongThe fundamentals of our economy [were] hollowed out through a series of past policy decisions, political power was centralised, weakening the relationships between the people, the businesses and the institutions who can make things happen beyond Whitehall. The economic enablers were privatised and outsourced, leaving accountability to a thicket of arm's length bodies and regulators, too often without the predictability or the pace that underpins a thriving market economy. And our country was deindustrialised as the cost to make anything, to build anything here soared, and our dependence on unreliable sources grew, including in areas critical to our national security and sovereignty.Let me be clear, I recognise that the costs of business, its energy bills, regulation, burdens, planning constraints, labour costs, have grown since Covid and I want to draw the line.And whether it is the cost of business or the cost of living, the only way we deal with these in the long term is growth. Continue reading...

Friedrich Merz said his conservative CDU was shaken to its very foundations' after far-right victory in Saxony-AnhaltA shocked" and chastened Friedrich Merz has vowed to stay in office despite the far right's triumph in a state election that has brought anti-immigrant, pro-Kremlin politicians within striking distance of power.The German chancellor, appearing ashen-faced in front of reporters in Berlin, said on Monday that the landslide victory by the Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) in Saxony-Anhalt had shaken his conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to its very foundations". Continue reading...

Hamza Chowdhury says most of his fellow Green Camden councillors back him to contest 8 October byelectionZack Polanski is facing unexpected opposition from his own party in his attempt to fight the Holborn and St Pancras byelection for the Greens, with a local councillor saying he is also seeking the nomination, and that the seat does not need a politician you'll only see on a leaflet".The intervention by Hamza Chowdhury, a Green representative on Camden council in north London, came as the date for the byelection was confirmed for 8 October, after Keir Starmer's formal resignation as an MP. Continue reading...

Chief of nuclear watchdog says secret Assad-era facility would have been able to produce fissile materialA nearly complete nuclear reactor built secretly during the rule of the toppled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad would have been able to produce fissile material for possible use in nuclear weapons, the chief of the UN nuclear watchdog has revealed.Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last month visited two sites, one in Deir ez-Zor and a second in an undisclosed location identified to them by Syrian authorities. Continue reading...

Saxony-Anhalt win part of wider trend driven by mainstream policy failures and gradual normalisation of far right ideasThe numbers speak for themselves: Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), a party that dabbles in Nazi imagery, distinguishes between biological" and passport" Germans, and is too extreme even for France's far-right leader Marine Le Pen, nearly doubled its score in Sunday's state election in Saxony-Anhalt to 43.8% of the vote.Meanwhile, the centre-right CDU of the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, collapsed to 17.2%, less than half its total in the same race five years ago, and the centre-left SPD - Germany's other main party of government for the past 60-odd years - scraped 9.3%. The least that can be said is that the centre did not hold. Continue reading...

Hundreds of men, some in balaclavas, try to prevent asylum seekers' processing, two days after similar scenes in Dover

German chancellor says vote for far-right party will have repercussions' across the country

Estimates suggest drop in production with vineyards also concerned smoke taint' from wildfires may affect qualityFrench vineyards hit by severe drought and heatwaves are expected to report a 30-year low in wine production after the country's hottest ever recorded summer, according to the agriculture ministry.Initial estimates suggest winemakers will produce just under 34m hectolitres from this year's harvest: a drop of 6% on last year, and 17% less than the 2021-2025 average. Continue reading...

Predicted hot and dry weather in growing areas in eastern Australia identified as one of the key issues' that will affect food prices over next 12 months

Pressure follows revelations US military and weapons manufacturers control or have access to more than 100 bases across Australian continent

Reports of Soho Farmhouse visit add to speculation Duke and Duchess of Sussex could be settling in the areaWhen the Duke and Duchess of Sussex landed back in England earlier this summer, six years after they moved to California and quit as working royals, speculation was rife about where they would call home.Now, members of the luxury countryside retreat Soho Farmhouse have said they spotted Meghan arriving for an early morning coffee, sparking speculation that the couple were settling down in the exclusive countryside enclave of north Oxfordshire. Correspondent for the Royalist Tom Sykes said the duchess was seen arriving at the Comfy Farm lounge before 9am, where she was introduced to senior staff members by name. Continue reading...

Decision by carmaker, which is battling Trump tariffs and fallout from cyber-attack, labelled a body blow for workers'

Chancellor ducks questions on whether he will have to raise taxes but says he will stick firmly to fiscal rules

Retailer wins appeal against 2024 decision forcing it to pay shop workers the same as warehouse employeesThe UK retailer Next has overturned a 2024 court ruling forcing it to pay its shop staff the same higher basic pay rates as its warehouse workers under equal pay rules.The chain, led by the Conservative peer Simon Wolfson, said it had won a landmark victory in its ongoing equal pay litigation". It has succeeded in its appeal to the employment appeal tribunal on the key issue of basic pay", it said. Continue reading...

Two women and two men arrested on suspicion of murder after death of three-month-old girl in near Great WyrleyFour people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a three-month-old girl died in Staffordshire while camping with her family.Officers said they were made aware of the death on Saturday at 8.45am after being called by paramedics from the West Midlands ambulance service, who were responding to a report of a child in cardiac arrest. An air ambulance was also sent but the child was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Average property cost 298,468 in August, down by 0.4% year on year amid higher interest rates, says Lloyds

Fanfare at Belgrade funeral of man convicted of genocide raises questions from EU over Serbia's membership plan

Newscaster says rare but treatable condition polycythaemia vera left her feeling like she had her batteries taken out'The BBC News presenter Maryam Moshiri has been diagnosed with a rare form of incurable blood cancer, she has revealed.Doctors told the broadcaster last November she had polycythaemia vera (PV), which cannot be cured but is treatable. The condition, which affects about 8,000 people in the UK, is associated with an increased risk of the blood clots that can cause a stroke, heart attack or deep vein thrombosis. Continue reading...

Connection across Tumen River is further sign of closer ties between the two countries since start of war in UkraineRussia and North Korea have opened the first road bridge across their shared border, in the latest sign of the rapidly deepening ties between the two countries since the start of the war in Ukraine.The one-kilometre bridge spans the Tumen River between Khasan in Russia's far east and Tumangang in North Korea, along a remote and sparsely populated stretch of the countries' shared border just a few miles from the coast. Continue reading...

Mainstream politicians express alarm while lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt welcomes strong' cooperation with Musk

UK band will play 16 shows across Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as five shows in SaitamaRadiohead will return to Australia to play 16 shows across three cities next year, marking the band's first tour of the country in 15 years.On Monday afternoon, the British rock band unveiled the itinerary for its May 2027 tour, which also includes five shows in Japan. Continue reading...

Rightwing NSW powerbrokers are alleged to have received illegal political donations from fugitive developer