World news | The Guardian

Nepali government says India and China are sending expert tunnel rescue teams, as minister estimates cost of rebuilding could be billions of dollars

Shadow minister for housing, communities and local government to resign with immediate effectJames Cleverly has resigned from the shadow cabinet to run for mayor of London.The Tory heavyweight, who was once home and foreign secretary and is shadow minister for housing, communities and local government, told the Sunday Times he will resign with immediate effect. Continue reading...

Ex-House intel committee chair, now running against Abdul El-Sayed, instead saw photo of Osama bin Laden's bodyIn a recent fundraising email, the Republican candidate for Michigan's open US Senate seat, former congressman Mike Rogers, appeared to mislead supporters about his past by suggesting that he had played an active role in the killing of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida who was shot and killed in an American military raid on his compound in Pakistan in 2011.When I served as a US army officer and an FBI special agent, I swore a sacred oath to defend the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic," Rogers wrote, according to a screenshot of the email shared online by Azi Paybarah, a former Washington Post reporter now with Straight Arrow News. I dedicated my life to keeping our families safe - working in the shadows, hunting down terrorists, and standing on the frontlines of our national security." Continue reading...

Three vessels and a helicopter deployed to monitor four ships travelling through the North Sea to the ChannelThe Royal Navy spent three days tracking Russian vessels as they passed through UK waters, it has emerged.The intense" 72-hour operation took place last week, with radars used to monitor four ships that made their way from the North Sea through to the Channel. Continue reading...

Nepal requests foreign help in identification and storing of bodies, DNA testing and rescuing people from tunnels

Former Duchess of York moved to Swiss chalet during fallout over her friendship with convicted child sex offenderSarah Ferguson will return to the UK after relocating to a Swiss chalet amid the fallout over the friendship between her and her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to reports.The pair were stripped of their royal titles in October over the scandal of their relationship with Epstein. According to the Sun, the former Duchess of York, 66, is renting a six-bedroom gated property in the home counties. Continue reading...

Bureau will still dismiss those engaged with sex workers within past 10 years, three or more times overall, or while in public safety capacityThe FBI is dropping a categorical hiring ban on applicants who have had sexual encounters with sex workers and will instead consider in a more holistic manner at least some candidates who have engaged in the practice in the past, according to people familiar with the matter.The move away from an automatic disqualification falls along a continuum of evolving recruitment standards within federal law enforcement and at the buttoned-up bureau, which several years ago relaxed its approach to candidates' past marijuana use and has drawn more recent concern among some current and former agents about a perceived loosening of recruitment requirements as it seeks to replenish its ranks. Continue reading...

Family members pin photos of Nepal's missing to hospital wall as people try not to give up hope on loved ones

Attack on depot owned by Ukraine military causes detonations and huge fire, damaging residential buildingsAt least 37 people have been killed after a Russian drone struck a warehouse near Kyiv's western suburbs that was storing explosive objects".The attack damaged at least 50 residential buildings, including a care home for elderly and disabled people, and sparked a huge fire and explosions in the Bucha district of the Kyiv region. The regional governor, Tymur Tkachenko, said a further 42 people, including four children, had been injured after the Russian drone strike. Continue reading...

Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Gabriel Perez wagered on Kalshi about words president used in speechesA White House teleprompter operator who left his post amid accusations that he used inside knowledge to make bets on Donald Trump's speeches on an online prediction market has been fined $172,000, according to federal regulators.Gabriel Perez exploited material, nonpublic information" that he gathered through his work for the president in order to place wagers on the Kalshi platform for his personal benefit", the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) maintained in a news release on Friday. Continue reading...

Bridget Phillipson says government would not have to consider releasing prisoners early if Tories had created more capacityCells to hold newly arrested people could run out without the early prison release scheme, a government minister has said.Bridget Phillipson defended the plan to address the prison capacity crisis in England and Wales by releasing thousands of prisoners early, which has been criticised by domestic abuse charities, bereaved families and probation officers among others. Continue reading...

Nominated in three previous years, the rambunctious standup - one half of The Delightful Sausage - wins the prize for his show Rewilding while Marty Gleeson is named best newcomerThe annual Edinburgh comedy award has been won by the standup Chris Cantrill, two years after his comedy partner Amy Gledhill - in the raucous northern double act The Delightful Sausage - won the same prize.Cantrill, 42 and from Bradford, received the so-called Oscar of live comedy" for a show, Rewilding, about his new life in rural Northumberland, where an act of vandalism shocks the local community - and a spoof whodunnit ensues. It builds on the foundations laid in 2024 by Easily Swayed, which documented his move to the countryside and secured what was then Cantrill's third nomination (but first as a solo act) for the award. Continue reading...

Recent deadly water-related incidents amid heatwave leads National Park Service to issue water-safety remindersAs a heatwave continues to bake the western and central US, officials are urging swimmers to be cautious when seeking respite from the summer heat, especially amid a score of recent deadly water-related incidents.Each year, from April to September, drowning deaths rise nationwide, according to 2018-24 data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Continue reading...

Grammy award-winning American artist selected as 13th person to submit written work to Oslo-based projectThe next manuscript by the American artist Laurie Anderson will remain unseen for 88 years, as she becomes the 13th figure to contribute to the Future Library project.Anderson joins Margaret Atwood, Han Kang, Ocean Vuong and other prominent authors who have written secret manuscripts, which have been locked away until 2114. Continue reading...

Looking for an alternative to fast fashion, Eve Ogden Schaub decided to create a garment from homegrown flaxFrom crop tops to shorts and brightly patterned dresses, many of today's clothes are the result of fast fashion. But one woman is taking a radical approach to challenging this trend by growing her own dress.Eve Ogden Schaub is in the midst of a project to create a linen garment made from flax she is growing at home, documenting the process in videos shared on her Instagram account. Continue reading...

Searching for exoplanets and clues on planet formation, the Roman telescope will lift off Sunday morning in FloridaA $4.3bn space telescope that Donald Trump tried to kill is set to lift off from Florida early on Sunday as Nasa embarks on the next stage of its quest to unlock the secrets of the universe.The Nancy Grace Roman space telescope survived two rounds of proposed White House budget cuts, and will embark on a million-mile journey into deep space from a launchpad at the Kennedy Space Center at 7.26am ET, barring late technical issues or intervention from Florida's notoriously capricious summer weather. Continue reading...

Total peace' plan of previous government led only 99 of Colombia's 30,000 armed combatants to disarm, but new president Abelardo De la Espriella opposes peace agreementsIn mid-June, 99 guerrilla fighters were flown by helicopter to a small settlement in a rural area of southern Colombia where they lined up and, one by one, handed their weapons to government officials: rifles, pistols, machine guns and grenade launchers.They also stripped off their heavy tactical vests, field packs and camouflage uniforms, which were each piled into a bonfire to mark the beginning of a new life away from an armed conflict that has claimed nearly half a million lives in the last six decades. Continue reading...

Six more people hospitalised after incident at Big Church festival near SteyningA 41-year-old man has died and at least six other people have been injured after a large sign fell at a Christian festival in West Sussex, police have said.The man, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was pronounced dead at the scene after the incident at the Big Church festival near Steyning on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...

In move that could generate millions, Exeter academics to deliver MA at National Defense University in RiyadhThe University of Exeter has approved plans for a formal partnership" with Saudi Arabia to train senior military officers and government officials, despite long-held concerns about the Saudi government's human rights record, the Guardian has learned.In a deal that could generate millions of pounds for the Russell Group university, Exeter academics will deliver an MA in applied security and strategy (also known as an MStrat) to a cohort at the National Defense University (NDU) in Riyadh. Continue reading...

Country star came to South Yorkshire town in 2007 for UK launch of the Imagination Library, her book donation schemeShane Jarman was up a ladder decorating a Christmas tree at the school where he was deputy headteacher when he got a call asking him to come to Rotherham hospital ASAP. It was December 2007 and Jarman's wife, Claire, had given birth the previous day to their first child, a girl called Emma, so of course he rushed to the phone. All was well, he was told, but that everything would become clear" when he got to the hospital.Once there, his wife told him - somewhat unexpectedly - that they were going to meet Dolly Parton. And literally within what felt like five minutes," he recalled, there were great camera flashes, lots of noise, lots of clicking and in walked this real big bundle of energy." Continue reading...

Australian-led trial finds low risk of side effects from common cholesterol-lowering medication for otherwise healthy older peopleTaking a common cholesterol-lowering medication can reduce the risk of a heart attack or stroke for people aged over 70, with a low risk of serious side effects, a world-first clinical trial led by Australian researchers has found.Statins are already commonly prescribed to people under the age of 75 who meet certain risk criteria, such as having diabetes and high cholesterol, to prevent them from having a major heart event such as a heart attack, stroke, or from requiring heart surgery. Continue reading...

Moving tariffs will cushion the blow from the October price cap rise and the increase widely predicted for JanuaryWith higher energy bills looming and warnings of worse to come in the new year, many households could save up to 173 a year by switching to a fixed deal.Millions of households in Great Britain will face the highest energy charges in three years after it was announced that the government's price cap will rise again in October. This will be the second increase in three months. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Number of times AI lies, ignores instructions and pursues goals in harmful ways almost doubles in JulyIncidents of AIs escaping users' control to lie, ignore instructions and pursue goals in harmful ways have hit a new high, according to research that also suggests the severity of deception and misalignment is worsening.Analysis of real-world loss of control incidents involving AI models flagged by businesses and individuals almost doubled in July compared with June, with more than 300 cases in the month, according to the Loss of Control Observatory, which monitors reports made by AI users on the social media platform X. Continue reading...

Planning delays and slow 5G upgrades could leave the UK unable to cope with a surge in AI-related trafficThe UK risks becoming a laggard in the global AI race as crucial telecoms upgrades to harness the technology fall behind rival nations, according to senior industry executives.The infrastructure AI race has centred on the need to build datacentres, and to ensure they have access to the huge water and energy supplies required to cool and supply the computational power to train and run AI models. Continue reading...

A plug-in solar kit that costs about $1,000 pays for itself in three years', one expert says

As one of Europe's biggest consumers of gas the UK may be particularly exposed to heightened price volatilityEurope is on course to enter the cooler months with gas stores at their lowest level in 13 years, which has triggered winter panic" among energy traders, experts have warned.The EU's gas stocks were 63% full in the last week of August, well below the 80% average for late August over recent years and among the lowest levels ever recorded for this time of year. Continue reading...

World Humanoid Robot Games showcased leaps Beijing has made in the tech, but also highlighted limitations as US rivals prepare their own launchesWith exploding pelvises, enough comic pratfalls for a Buster Keaton show reel and the odd moment of ruthless violence, the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing gripped the world this week with an unsettling mixture of hilarity, trepidation and relief.The five-day showcase staked out China's claim to undisputed leadership in humanoid robotics as android martial artists landed knockout roundhouse kicks and robot teams marched into the arena heralded by flag-waving captains astride giant robotic dogs. The games' blue-riband event, the 100m, did not disappoint when the robot-sprinters ran quicker than Usain Bolt before slamming mindlessly into a padded wall in a blaze of sparks, flames and flying mechanical limbs. Continue reading...

Former PM believes Northern Ireland will leave UK in the long term - but remains opposed to Scottish independenceThe former prime minister Gordon Brown has said it is inevitable that Ireland will become united at some point in the future, in a wide-ranging interview with the Guardian.While he added that any union would necessarily be a long process" and based on mutual agreement, Brown's comments are notable both because of his vehement opposition to Scottish independence, but also because of his involvement in government in efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Continue reading...

Architect of Srebrenica genocide is dead but those scarred by his atrocities say his ideology is still shockingly pervasiveTo most of the world, he was and will always be the Butcher of Bosnia", a grim epithet but one that still fails to fully convey the evil and horror inflicted on its people by Gen Ratko Mladi, who died in prison on Thursday.As commander of the Bosnian Serb forces, Mladi was responsible for the killing of an estimated 100,000 men, women and children during the savage breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He was most notoriously the architect of ethnic cleansing and the genocide at Srebrenica in which at least 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were slaughtered. Continue reading...

More than 40 Australians are among several thousand people unaccounted for after catastrophic flooding on the Nepal-Tibet border

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The $134,000 cost of the statue of the former Victorian premier has been heavily criticised by the Liberal opposition

There are now 41 Australians missing, and four rapid response team members are expected to arrive in Kathmandu

Cleveland police say a total of 24 people arrested in investigation after crash that killed two officersSeven more men have been arrested as part of an operation tackling alleged organised crime after the head-on crash on the A66 that resulted in seven deaths, Cleveland police have said.Officers said four men, aged 21, 25, 35 and 40, were being held on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life after a vehicle crashed into a house in Steele Crescent, Middlesbrough. Continue reading...

About 125 firefighters tackle blaze at Neasden waste facility as nearby Amazon warehouse is evacuatedA large fire has broken out at a waste facility close to Wembley Stadium in north-west London, disrupting tube and train lines in the area.Twenty fire engines and about 125 firefighters were sent to tackle the blaze at a mixed-waste facility on an industrial estate in Neasden, less than a mile from the venue. Continue reading...

Nevada-based Kingsbarn Realty Capital seeks to acquire land to construct private road to development outside parkThe Trump administration is reportedly pushing to give a parcel of land inside Yosemite, the country's first national park and one of its most popular, to a Nevada-based private developer.Staff with the National Park Service have been exploring how the agency can give a quarter-mile parcel to a company operated by Kingsbarn Realty Capital, the news outlet Notus reported on Friday, citing agency documents and unnamed sources directly familiar with discussions". Continue reading...

Official death toll approaches 600, with many of the missing Americans having been on a pilgrimage to a sacred siteAt least 90 Americans were still missing on Friday among almost 2,000 people unaccounted for following the catastrophic flash flood along the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday.With the official death toll creeping towards 600 on Friday and expected to continue rising, there were survivors, victims and missing people from many nationalities. Continue reading...

Relatives really worried, but hopeful' as they wait anxiously for news in the aftermath of the flash flooding disaster

Critics call move to gain long-term access to country's massive energy reserves predatory' and unconstitutional'Reports that the US is preparing to claim a big stake in Venezuela's massive energy reserves have sparked an outcry, with critics describing the move as predatory" and a rapacious" land grab.Several media outlets this week reported that the Trump administration - which abducted Venezuela's authoritarian president, Nicolas Maduro, in January and has steered the South American country ever since - hopes to secure long-term access to its oil and gasfields. Continue reading...

Moscow recruits an estimated 1,000 people a day but western officials say it cannot keep up with casualty levelRussia is losing about 6,000 more troops in Ukraine each month than it can recruit, western officials have said.While Russia is still acquiring new battlefield recruits at speed, with an estimated rate of 1,000 a day, in the last two months even this has not been sufficient to replace those killed or injured. Continue reading...

Leading cardiovascular health groups reclassify overlooked causes and introduce sex-specific diagnostic thresholdsDoctors have agreed the world's first universal definition of a heart attack, paving the way for millions of women to finally receive better treatment after decades of being deprioritised".In one of the biggest procedural shake-ups in a generation, the world's four leading cardiovascular health groups have signed off on new guidance for healthcare professionals when seeing suspected heart attack patients. Continue reading...

Campaigners say seismic shift' follows years of pressure to sever ties with oil and gas firmThe London Science Museum has ended its decades-long partnership with the oil and gas company BP in what has been described as a seismic shift" for the museum.The Science Museum Group academy, which was established in 2018 to provide training and resources, announced on Friday that it would be ending its partnership with BP. In a statement, the director and chief executive of the Science Museum Group, Sir Ian Blatchford, said the partnership had drawn to a close at the end of the current contract term". Continue reading...

Experts say imported eggs served in cafes and restaurants may be behind hundreds of infections and one deathSalmonella cases in the UK are expected to rise until the common source is identified, something that is notoriously difficult to establish, experts have warned.There have been 474 confirmed cases and one death linked to the current outbreak, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), with the latest investigations suggesting it is associated with eating imported eggs in cafes and restaurants. Continue reading...

Federation says it fears death toll of nearly 600 will continue to rise as rescuers reach cut-off areas

Norwegians gather to remember monarch whose death comes amid scandal over links between crown princess and Jeffrey EpsteinNorwegians have gathered in their thousands to pay their respects to King Harald V, Europe's oldest reigning monarch, who has died, aged 89, in Oslo. He was succeeded immediately by his son, King Haakon VIII.The new king thanked the government and Norwegian people for their support and sympathy for the royal family at this time". A period of national mourning was announced as crowds left wreaths and messages outside the royal palace in Oslo. Continue reading...

Brazil failed to prove compliance with EU rules on use of antibiotics in cattle and poultry farmingThe UK's leading farming organisations and animal health experts have called for an urgent ban on imports of Brazilian meat, in light of concerns over the safety of imports.The National Farmers' Union in England and its sister organisations in the devolved administrations wrote to the government on Friday warning that public health was at risk. Continue reading...

Desperate relatives trying to reach loved ones last seen in area where entire villages have been swept away

The brother of former premier questioned over what, if anything, was done in return for $2m from developer turned fugitive Jean Nassif

Critics say painting looks more like a zombie but artist Chris Ashmore says touch-ups' are still to happenA street artist has defended his mural of the snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan in Sheffield after critics suggested the world champion looked like a zombie.Chris Ashmore was commissioned to produce the artwork featuring the seven-time world champion for the back wall of the Spot On snooker club, the BBC reported. Continue reading...

Jake says his parents never stopped helping' his brother Nick, who has pleaded not guilty to murdering both of them at their Los Angeles homeJake Reiner has given his first interview since the killing of his parents, the film-maker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, saying: I will never understand why this happened."Reiner, who directed films including The Princess Bride, This is Spinal Tap and Stand By Me, was found dead alongside Singer Reiner from apparent stab wounds in their home in Los Angeles in December. Continue reading...