Tweet by Sarah Helm, wife of national security adviser Jonathan Powell, does not meet criminal threshold'No further action will be taken against Sarah Helm, the wife of the prime minister's national security adviser, after she was accused of supporting the banned protest group Palestine Action.Helm, a journalist and author who is married to Jonathan Powell, posted on X on Thursday: God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action." Continue reading...
by Kim Willsher in Paris and William Christou on (#7947Q)
Police fire teargas in Paris and protesters storm town hall in Marseille - with officials blaming violence on ultra-left'More than 400 people were arrested in France on Saturday after protesters supporting high school student grievances clashed with police.Police fired teargas in confrontations with protesters, as demonstrations across France were boosted by other groups angry over high prices and the fraying of a social welfare system. Continue reading...
Federal officer slammed vehicle into a construction worker while pursuing a man who died in similar circumstancesA federal officer slammed a vehicle into a Houston construction worker and broke his leg, believing him to be a man who apparently died years ago, the dead man's family said on Friday, further calling into question the account given by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).The worker, 48-year-old Miguel Parra Hernandez of Mexico, remains hospitalized with multiple leg fractures and needs reconstructive ankle surgery, according to FIEL, a Houston-based immigration advocacy group. At a news conference on Friday, the group said the alleged suspect's family had shared documentation proving his death. Continue reading...
Would-be MP recorded telling undercover reporter in ITV investigation that Muslims could not be BritishA would-be Reform UK MP told an undercover reporter that Muslims could not be British and asylum seekers should be put in concentration camps".The comments were recorded as part of the undercover investigation by ITV that has already seen Reform accused of appalling behaviour" and extreme racism". Continue reading...
While masked lapwings have a reputation for swooping during nesting season, Windsor Park oval's resident plover just wants a good inningsAt Windsor Park in Riverside, just outside Launceston in northern Tasmania, a masked lapwing has claimed prime real estate in the middle of a community sports ground, showing complete indifference to the weekend cricket matches taking place around it.Warming a nest of eggs, the bird has been affectionately dubbed Faf Swoop Plessis" by locals - a play on former South African cricket captain Faf du Plessis. Continue reading...
French mayor and archbishop also attacked during violent attempt to stop Palestinians harvesting olivesIsraeli settler militants have attacked European diplomats, a French mayor and the archbishop of Cambrai in Taybeh, in the occupied West Bank, injuring three people and damaging a car, in the latest violent attempt to prevent Palestinians from harvesting olives on their own land.Bernard Baudoux, mayor of Aulnoye-Aymeries, was wearing his red, white and blue sash of office and attempting to enter a vehicle with diplomatic plates when he was assaulted and knocked to the ground on Saturday. Continue reading...
About 6,000 homes under evacuation, affecting 16,000 residents in San Clemente and San Juan CapistranoAt least six homes burned and two firefighters were injured after a fast-moving wildfire blazed through parts of southern California on Friday.Two firefighters were taken to the hospital with heat-related injuries from the Norte fire, officials said. Continue reading...
by Associated Press in Jerusalem and Agence France-Pr on (#7947P)
Belgian foreign minister urges further EU sanctions and links attack to Israel's illegal settlement policy'Masked settlers attacked a group of European diplomats during a visit to the occupied West Bank on Saturday, Belgium's foreign minister said, on a second day of high-profile assaults on Palestinians and others during the sensitive olive harvest.At least four people have been killed and more than 100 injured since the harvest began earlier this month, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Activists say Israeli authorities do little to stop attacks that involve weapons ranging from slingshots to guns. An attack on Friday seriously injured a Washington Post photographer and others. Continue reading...
French government launches investigation into why cars funded by UK to prevent asylum seekers crossing Channel were used in school protestsFrench police have used 4x4 vehicles paid for by British taxpayers to charge at student protesters during the school protests that have swept the country.The French government has confirmed that an investigation has been launched into why the cars, funded by the UK government specifically to prevent asylum seekers crossing the Channel, were used during a protest involving school students in Dunkirk. Continue reading...
by Natricia Duncan Caribbean correspondent on (#7942T)
Descendants say theft from Portchester Castle reflects racism that has haunted generation after generation'The theft of a plaque in Hampshire that told the little-known story of African-Caribbean prisoners in 18th-century Britain reflects the enduring racism that has fuelled centuries of atrocities against Black and Indigenous Caribbean people, their descendants say.Ronald Raymond McDonald, a professional drummer, was part of a delegation that travelled from Belize and elsewhere to Portchester Castle near Portsmouth last week to honour their ancestors: 2,500 men, women and children transported to Britain as prisoners of war in 1796. Continue reading...
John Swinney tells party conference SNP will use six-figure war chest' to renew argument for leaving UKJohn Swinney has said that the second referendum campaign for Scottish independence has already begun", revealing a nationwide effort to renew the argument for leaving the UK in his keynote address to the SNP party conference.On Saturday, the Scottish first minister said the SNP would launch its most sophisticated campaign in history" to convince Scottish voters of the benefits of independence, backed by a six-figure war chest". Continue reading...
Actor experienced a medical emergency' on flight during which she allegedly injured crew members, statement saysActor Selma Blair did not mean to hurt anyone during the recent flight which led to her arrest on allegations that she assaulted a pair of cabin crew members, a police officer and a nurse, her representatives said on Friday in a statement that characterized the episode as a medical emergency.The lengthy statement also dismissed prior media coverage of Blair's arrest after a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to New York as unsympathetic and inaccurate, singling out reporting from several outlets alleging that she tried to open the door of the airplane that she and her fellow passengers were on. Continue reading...
Chilean-American author awarded Premio Planeta for sequel to her 1982 debut novel, The House of the SpiritsThe Chilean-American author Isabel Allende has won Spain's 1m (843,000) Premio Planeta, one of the world's most lucrative literary prizes, under a pseudonym, with a sequel to her celebrated debut novel, The House of the Spirits.Allende, 84, won the 75th edition of the award on Thursday with La hora antes del alba, which returns to the characters of her 1982 novel, a multigenerational family saga set against political upheaval in a country inspired by Chile. Continue reading...
School looking to sell piece of open land beloved by people in Devon town to fund refurbishmentsOn Saturdays throughout autumn, residents of Totnes have met at a field on the banks of the River Dart to play ballgames, fly kites or simply sit on the grass and chat.But it hasn't just been about having fun - this has been a play protest" aimed at trying to save a beloved piece of open land in the historic Devon market town. Continue reading...
Andrew Bailey among finance leaders to leave session in Bangkok when Russian finance minister addressed groupThe Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has taken part in a walkout of finance leaders who left an International Monetary Fund meeting in protest against Russian involvement.Bailey joined counterparts from France, Germany and a number of Scandinavian and Baltic countries who left the session in Bangkok when the Russian finance minister, Anton Siluanov, addressed the group in Russian. Continue reading...
As Mark Cocker approaches a landmark for the world's oldest column in an English-language newspaper, he is still inspired by powerful encounters with natureIn the autumn of 1987, Mark Cocker sat in a field near Norwich and watched a jay burying acorns for the long winter ahead. He described the scene in his first country diary for the Guardian. Thirty-nine years on, some of those jay-planted acorns will be mature oaks now, and Cocker is completing his 1,000th diary for the world's oldest column in an English-language newspaper.In his next diary, he will reflect on the changing birdlife around Flint Clough, in the Peak District, where he first marvelled at rare birds aged 12 after devouring bird books in his bedroom. As a boy, he would find cuckoo, golden plover, ring ouzel and twite, a once-common bird which is now virtually extinct in England. Continue reading...
Environmental watchdog Mighty Earth reveals two-year effort to postpone and weaken EU Deforestation RegulationUS corporate lobbyists launched a two-year blitz" to postpone and weaken the world's most progressive legislation to protect forests, according to a new investigation by the environmental watchdog Mighty Earth.Major US firms and trade associations, including Cargill, Bunge, Mondelz and the US Soybean Export Council, as well as numerous other US firms and organizations, sought to influence the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) in more than 350 meetings, the advocacy group found. Continue reading...
by Lisa O’Carroll Senior correspondent on (#7942W)
Mark Smith, who is married to a Swedish woman, says he was told three times he needed to do nothing in order to remain after BrexitA seriously ill British man living in Sweden has been forced into hiding amid fears he will be deported as a result of what he says is a government Brexit residency error.Mark Smith, 60, who has had hearts attacks, strokes, severe headaches and chronically high blood pressure that has been difficult to treat, was told on the phone he should leave Sweden by 17 October as he was an alien" without permission to stay. Continue reading...
As a surge in beekeepers has lead to increased numbers of honeybees, researchers record them pushing bumblebees and other rival species away from flowersHoneybees are outcompeting wild pollinators for resources by aggressively bumping into them and chasing them away from flowers, research has shown.The study, by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University, found that areas where there were higher concentrations of honeybees had fewer wild pollinators, such as bumblebees, solitary bees and hoverflies. Continue reading...
Data shows 2026 could be worst harvest on record, as growers suggest painting faces on vegetables instead of carvingIn the lead-up to Halloween, front porches across the country feature fat, proudly carved pumpkins, lit from within by tea lights.But this year there is likely to be a shortage due to drought, experts have warned, with the squashes much smaller than usual. Continue reading...
Owner and mechanics fear for their health and future of the Herne Hill shop with no date for fixing problemThe leafy south London neighbourhood of Herne Hill is a haven for cyclists who can often be seen lapping the local parks and refuelling at the many cafes that line the suburban streets. But there is something foul in the air of this corner of the capital - and for once it's not the traffic fumes hitting bicycle riders.A toxic stench thought to be caused by untreated sewage stuck in Thames Water drains has been emanating from the subterranean depths for months, most likely caused by the summer's lack of rain. Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Senior economics correspondent on (#793ZZ)
Exclusive: Ministers considering overhaul of apprenticeship funding scheme to tackle youth jobs crisisEmployers in England are to be forced to pay more to train an older worker than a youth apprentice under plans being drawn up by the government to tackle the youth jobs crisis.The Guardian understands ministers plan to overhaul Labour's apprenticeship funding scheme to increase the cost of training by 25% for a worker over the age of 25 in order to encourage businesses to train young people instead. Continue reading...
Families have been scattered, fathers separated from their children, and couples unable to reunite and marryWijdan Abu Matar, 43, was forced to leave Gaza in November 2023 with her eight children for medical treatment, while her injured husband, Hatem, remained behind.Wijdan and her family were living in the Nuseirat refugee camp when the Gaza war began with the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Ten days later, on 17 October that year, an Israeli strike hit the al-Muhandseen tower, near their home, injuring Wijdan and every member of her family. Continue reading...
by Presented by Aditya Chakrabortty with Michael Gove on (#793ZR)
For more than three decades, Michael Gove has been a leading figure in British Conservatism. As a journalist, government minister and now editor of the Tory bible, the Spectator, he has helped shape the right even as it has moved further rightwards. In the latest episode of Radical Thinking, Gove joins Aditya Chakrabortty to discuss the future of the right, his record on Brexit and austerity, and the Spectator's position on IslamWatch the full episode with Michael Gove here.
British father would like to take his family to Lancashire to see ill relative but officials refused visa for his partner, a refugee from MyanmarThe Home Office has denied a great-grandfather from Lancashire the chance of meeting his five-month-old British great-grandson, who lives abroad.William Cross was born in Thailand on 30 April to parents Matthew Cross, 31, who is from Burnley in Lancashire, and Khin Thant Zin, known as Jue Jue, also 31, a refugee who fled persecution in Myanmar to Thailand. Continue reading...
Alan Feeney, who sat on Solihull and Birmingham councils, said there was no excuse' for his commentsAlan Feeney has resigned as a Reform councillor for Solihull and Birmingham after backlash over racist comments that were captured in an undercover investigation.In a Facebook post on Friday, Feeney wrote: There is no excuse for my comments. With responsibility comes accountability, and it is for that reason that I have resigned every post I hold on both Solihull borough council and Birmingham city council." Continue reading...
Chancellor says government will study responses to public consultation, with airports being big part of jobs and growth'John Healey has said there is a pro-growth case for going ahead with a third runway at Heathrow despite the prime minister declining to back it.Healey's predecessor as chancellor, Rachel Reeves, put approval of the long-planned runway at the heart of her growth speech" last year, saying it would make Britain the world's best-connected place to do business". Continue reading...
Prosecutors allege Moises Freire gave two students at FIT the opioid, saying it was cocaine, and raped one as she overdosedA man raped a student at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) after giving her a dose of fentanyl that rendered her unconscious and ultimately killed her, federal prosecutors allege.That student's friend also experienced an overdose and nearly died after taking the potent synthetic opiate, leading to charges against three men, the US Department of Justice said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading...
by Associated Press and Agence France-Presse on (#793V4)
Disgraced music mogul moved to Pennsylvania prison after reports of perks and fight injuries at New Jersey lockupSean Diddy" Combs, who was convicted of prostitution-related crimes, has been moved to a federal prison in Pennsylvania after reports that the disgraced music producer was living the high life and was injured in a fight at his New Jersey lockup, according to reports.The US Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is transferring Combs, 56, from FCI Fort Dix to FCI Allenwood Low, a low-security facility south of Williamsport and about 155 miles (250km) west of New York City, a person familiar with the matter said to the Associated Press. The person was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. Continue reading...
Forest clearance at smallest total since records began in 1988 in success for Lula ahead of presidential run-offDeforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level since records began, new government data shows.But whether this globally important success is maintained or reversed is on a knife edge ahead of a presidential election run-off on 25 October between two candidates with sharply different visions for the future of the rainforest and how that affects relations with the US under Donald Trump. Continue reading...
Lawyers tell high court that client could harm himself if serious allegations against him are made publicA well-known individual" is trying to secure a permanent injunction against the Guardian and ITN to prevent them from publishing details of serious allegations made against him.At a high court hearing on Friday, the claimant's legal team said there was a serious risk that he could harm himself should the allegations be made public.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason, Lisa O’Carroll and Jasper Jolly on (#793PF)
Beijing warns against discriminatory' step after France drops opposition to British role in Made in Europe packageNo 10 has left the door open to imposing tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles as part of the Made in Europe package, prompting a warning from Beijing that such a move would be discriminatory".Downing Street said on Friday that it would welcome the objective to have the UK included in the Industrial Accelerator Act" after France dropped its opposition to Britain joining the scheme. Continue reading...
Author Sarah Helm, married to Jonathan Powell, wrote to back novelist Sally Rooney's support of proscribed direct action groupThe UK's national security adviser Jonathan Powell is under pressure to distance himself from a comment made by his wife, the award-winning writer Sarah Helm, in support of Palestine Action.The post was made in defence of the critically acclaimed Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who said she had been forced to pull her books from shelves in the UK after pledging proceeds from their sales to Palestine Action. Continue reading...
Lula reverses position on age of responsibility for heinous' crimes in what many see as a desperate electoral gambitBrazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has announced that he now supports lowering the age of criminal responsibility for heinous" crimes from 18 to 16, reversing a longstanding policy in what is widely seen as a desperate electoral gambit.The U-turn, which Lula announced during a Thursday night interview with TV Globo, comes with the presidential runoff in just over a week. The incumbent faces an uphill battle to overturn the first-round victory of his opponent, the far-right senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who remains slightly ahead at the polls. Continue reading...
by Chris Osuh Community affairs correspondent on (#793NH)
Speaking at live UK event, former US president expresses hope rooted in the past and discusses the modern challenges to democracyBarack Obama cited the wonderful" story of how Manchester cotton workers stood in solidarity with enslaved African Americans as an inspiration for our times in a live appearance in the city.Tens of thousands of people packed Co-op Live in the city on Thursday for An Evening With Barack Obama, where the former US president was interviewed by the writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch. Continue reading...
by Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent on (#793NJ)
Yorkshire ambulance service says workers may have accessed or attempted to access information without legitimate reason'NHS staff may have accessed the medical records of a man killed by a tiger at a wildlife park without legitimate permission", an ambulance trust has said.Yorkshire ambulance service NHS trust has launched an investigation into two members of staff at the trust, which responded to emergency calls on Saturday when William Chapman climbed into the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Continue reading...
Former head of Foreign Office Olly Robbins applied for judicial review after Keir Starmer dismissed him in AprilOlly Robbins, the former head of the Foreign Office sacked by Keir Starmer over his role in vetting Peter Mandelson, has received a six-figure payout from the government over his dismissal.Robbins had applied to the high court for a judicial review of the prime minister's decision to remove him as the top civil servant at the Foreign Office after he was dismissed in April. Continue reading...
Settlers hurl rocks at Palestinians and beat photographer Heidi Levine as part of yearly attacks to disrupt harvestIsraeli settlers have attacked Palestinians across the occupied West Bank in a coordinated movement to disrupt the annual olive harvest, burning cars and trees and injuring Palestinians and a Washington Post photographer.Masked settlers wielding clubs and other weapons attacked people attempting to harvest their olives in West Bank towns on Friday. Palestinian authorities said they recorded attacks in eight villages, and injuries among at least 20 people. Continue reading...
The actor, who made a cameo in the Radio 4 drama in 1989, has signed a letter urging BBC not to move studio elsewhereThe cast and crew behind The Archers, including the one-time guest star Judi Dench, have written to the BBC director general urging him to keep the recording of the Radio 4 drama in Birmingham.It emerged this week that the corporation was planning to stop recording the rural community soap opera in the city for the first time in the show's 75-year history, after it scrapped plans for a radio drama studio. Continue reading...
Woman says she wrenched' herself free of assault that allegedly took place when she was working at MTV in 2001Russell Brand transformed into a wild-eyed maniac" when he tried to drag a woman into the men's toilets for a sexual encounter before she wrenched" herself free, a court has heard.The 51-year-old comedian is accused of indecently assaulting the woman who told Southwark crown court: I emerged relatively unscathed. He didn't manage to rape me." Continue reading...
by Raphael Boyd (now) and Taz Ali (earlier) on (#793BH)
This blog is now closedBurnham spoke of Ravenscraig, once the pride of Scotland's steel industry that employed tens of thousands of people before it closed in 1992.He said:When it closed, it wasn't just a works that shut, it was a whole community which saw the pillars underneath it just taken away, collapsed beneath it.That was a decision taken hundreds of miles away without any real consequences for what that would mean for people here, taken by people who would never have to live with those consequences, or see those consequences.I was the MP there for 16 years from the early 2000s, just after the pits had shut in the 1990s. It broke my heart to see the old miners shuffling into my surgery, carrying oxygen bottles, still struggling to get compensation for the damage that was done to their lungs.It pained me to drive past the wasteland around Bickershaw Colliery, one of the last pits to close in Leigh. Nobody asked Leigh what was going to come next either.I care about Scotland a lot, and I am coming today with a big offer and in search of common ground.When I walked into Downing Street in July, I said I wanted to do politics differently. Place first, not party first. Honestly, I meant it, and I arrive here in that spirit because people in Scotland, in my view, deserve better from politicians and politics. Continue reading...
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