World news | The Guardian

Police say Ki-Shawn Crumity, 26, met girl through Snapchat, and charged him with human trafficking and sexual assaultA 13-year-old Louisiana girl who went missing after meeting a man online was found alive in a box at his home several states away in Pennsylvania - along with evidence that she had been sexually assaulted, according to authorities.Ki-Shawn Crumity, 26, faces charges of human trafficking, sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of a child after police in Pittsburgh said they arrested him on Thursday. He is one of at least three men who had been arrested as of Saturday amid an investigation involving law enforcement agencies in multiple states. Continue reading...

In Chicago suburb, protesters confronted ICE agents, whom Evanston mayor said assaulted' residentsDonald Trump's immigration crackdown continued on Halloween night as federal agents were seen in Chicago and Los Angeles on the holiday, according to multiple reports.In Chicago, where the president has unleashed military troops to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as agents carry out arrests and push back against protesters, several people were arrested on Friday. ICE agents descended on the city and its suburbs as part of their operations, and protesters were also detained during clashes with law enforcement. Continue reading...

Footballer pleads guilty to one count of driving dangerously after his offence was caught on cameraA Chelsea footballer who was caught on camera speeding down the hard shoulder of a busy A road in his Lamborghini has been handed a lengthy driving ban.Wesley Fofana, 24, pleaded guilty at North East Surrey magistrates court to one count of driving dangerously on 20 April along the A3 Esher bypass in Hook, Hampshire. The incident came to light after another motorist captured the footage on a dashcam and reported it to the police. Continue reading...

Officers confiscated more than half a tonne of class B drug in 22 suitcases from air passengers travelling from ThailandPolice have charged 11 people in connection with an attempt to smuggle 22 suitcases packed with cannabis from Thailand to Birmingham worth nearly 14m.More than half a tonne of the class B drug, described by the National Crime Agency (NCA) as an enormous amount", was seized at Birmingham airport in August 2024. The 11 people charged, aged from 21 to 35, all travelled to the UK from Thailand via Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. Continue reading...

Plans for settling-up charge' predicted to raise 2bn and would follow policy in place among most G7 countriesRich people quitting the UK could be required to pay a 20% tax on their business assets as part of plans reportedly being considered by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.The Treasury has drawn up plans for a settling-up charge" on assets; a move that would bring the UK into line with most other G7 nations and raise a predicted 2bn for the public coffers, according to the Times. Continue reading...

People brought to US as children have built lives and are raising families - but could lose their ability to work legallyA federal judge could soon decide whether tens of thousands of so-called Dreamers" in Texas could lose their ability to work in the US legally under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca) immigration program - prompting fears of upheaval and heartbreak.As part of the years-long legal battle over Daca, US district court judge Andrew Hanen is set to rule on competing proposals for the future of the Obama-era program. One of those proposals, submitted by the Trump administration, would make Daca recipients in Texas, in particular, ineligible for the work permits typically offered by the policy. Continue reading...

Political instability and fuel shortages caused by rebel group is driving Mali to brink of becoming Islamist republicArmed groups of JNIM fighters have blocked key routes used by fuel tankers, disrupting supply lines to the capital Bamako and other regions across Mali.The al-Qaida-linked jihadist group Jama'at Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM) is gradually converging on Mali's capital, Bamako, with increasing attacks in recent weeks, including on army-backed convoys. Continue reading...

Student-led movement continues to demand political change as embattled president issues rare apologyTens of thousands of Serbians have gathered to commemorate victims of a fatal railway station collapse a year ago, a tragedy that galvanised anti-government sentiment that still threatens the embattled president, Aleksandar Vui.A student-led movement organised the rallies in the country's second largest city, Novi Sad, where on 1 November 2024, the canopy at the newly renovated railway station collapsed. Continue reading...

Chaotic release procedures at HMP Chelmsford were flagged to the prisons minister last yearMinisters were warned by a watchdog that prisoners were falling through the cracks" of chaotic release procedures at the jail that mistakenly freed a convicted child sex offender.An annual report on HMP Chelmsford uncovered a litany of issues and errors" including a mix-up of release dates" when letting out a vulnerable prisoner. Continue reading...

After initial enthusiasm, people fear ceasefire does not mean end to war but just less frequent, more unpredictable violenceAmeen al-Zein, like many in Gaza, was overjoyed by the news of the ceasefire. It was a rare moment of relief after years of fear and loss. On Tuesday night he gave an interview to a local NGO urging people to return to their homes in northern Gaza now that fighting had stopped. Just half an hour later, Zein was dead, killed in an Israeli bombing on the school where he had been sheltering in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza.He died without being able to fulfil his vow to his wife that they would return to Beit Lahia and pitch a tent over the rubble, eager to be home even if their house was no longer there. Continue reading...

Council data obtained by the Guardian shows 345 children have gone missing in recent years, many probably taken by traffickersMore than 50 lone child asylum seekers who disappeared soon after arriving in the UK and while in the care of the authorities are still missing, according to data obtained by the Guardian.Many of the missing children arrived in small boats or hidden in the backs of lorries and are thought to have been taken by traffickers. Kent is often the place where they arrive. Continue reading...

Acknowledgment shows shift in tone after six years of diplomatic spats over colonial-era abusesSpain has acknowledged and expressed regret over the pain and injustice" suffered by the Indigenous people of Mexico during its conquest of the Americas, heralding a shift in tone after six years of diplomatic spats over the abuses of the colonial period.In March 2019, Mexico's then president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wrote to King Felipe VI and Pope Francis, who was then the leader of the world's Roman Catholics, urging them to apologise for the massacres and oppression" of colonialism and the conquest. Continue reading...

Watchdog contacts tax authority after families' payments stopped based on flawed travel dataMinisters may have breached privacy laws when they suspended the child benefit of thousands of families on the basis of flawed Home Office information, legal experts have said.At the same time, the UK's data watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office, has contacted the national tax authority, HMRC, over the issues raised. Continue reading...

Dartford representative James Buchan says devastating' immigration plans had created a lot of fear and anxietyA Reform UK councillor has defected to the Conservatives, saying he became uncomfortable in Nigel Farage's party.James Buchan, who sits in the south-east London borough of Dartford, said he had struggled with the idea of facing his relatives while a member of a party whose anti-immigration policies spread fear. Continue reading...

Education secretary says mandatory test needed to tackle shocking outcomes' for many working-class childrenBridget Phillipson has said she is ready to take on the unions in a battle over compulsory reading tests for 13-year-olds and more extracurricular activities for all children to prevent them becoming stuck in a doom loop of detachment" from school.The education secretary said that teaching unions, who have argued the tests were unnecessary and distracting", should really think carefully" about whether they could justify standing in the way of tackling the shocking outcomes" that exist for many working-class children. Continue reading...

Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi has been imprisoned in the UAE for almost a year for criticising Emirati, Egyptian and Saudi governmentsThe UN special rapporteur on torture is being urged to investigate Lebanon's role in the treatment of the Egyptian-Turkish poet and activist Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi, a dissident who has been imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates for more than 10 months over a post he made on social media.Legal counsel representing Qaradawi filed a complaint to the UN rapporteur on Thursday, asking it to examine the situation. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Behaviour of Robert Albon, or Joe Donor', described as compulsive by judge who said he targeted vulnerable womenA prolific unregulated donor is still attempting to sell his sperm despite warnings from two family court judges, a Guardian investigation has found.Robert Albon, who calls himself Joe Donor", has appealed to the courts to gain access to at least four of his biological children against their mothers' wishes. In a rare move, a judge named him in 2023 to warn women of the risks of using his services, which he promotes on social media. Continue reading...

Rising prices and uncertainty over Rachel Reeves's tax plans means this year many superyacht buyers are just browsingWhat would happen if red wine got on that?" It is a common enough question when perusing a carpet store. But, as it happens, the same query crops up when shopping for a yacht. Oh, you'd never get it off that decking," the other half of a young couple replies as they size up one of the 2m triple-decker yachts moored at the recent Southampton international boat show.Top boat manufacturers descended on the port city from across Europe to show off bigger, better and bolder yachts than ever before, as well as lines of smaller sailing and motor boats. But the show, once a must-attend of the season alongside exhibitions in Cannes and Monaco, has shrunk by about 30% this year, according to some vendors' estimates. Continue reading...

The result hands Hassan, who took power in 2021, a five-year term following opposition repressionTanzania's president, Samia Suluhu Hassan, has been declared the winner of the country's disputed election with more than 97% of the vote following violent protests across the country earlier in the week.The landslide result announced by Tanzania's electoral commission hands Hassan, who took power in 2021 after the death in office of her predecessor, a five-year term to govern the east African country of 68 million people. Continue reading...

Fitzwilliam Museum has uncovered student's work from 1977 that revealed Cambridgeshire location of child's burial placeAn A-level pupil found the lost grave of the Black abolitionist Olaudah Equiano's daughter, revealing a story of love and solidarity in 18th-century rural England.Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797), also known as Gustavus Vassa, escaped enslavement to become a celebrated author and campaigner in Georgian England. His memoir, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, was a bestseller. Continue reading...

How did a former Mormon bishop end up pleading guilty to taking bribes to make statements in favour of Russia in the European parliament?The first thing most people recall about Nathan Gill is his imposing height.At 193cm (6ft 4in), the one-time Reform UK leader in Wales towered over colleagues and opponents - and he was taller still in his favourite cowboy boots. Continue reading...

The Coral Adventurer will return to Cairns, as investigations into Suzanne Rees' death continue

Bureau of Meteorology says band of severe thunderstorms bearing down on Australia's east coast

Policy position diverging from senior Coalition partner expected to be formalised at Nationals partyroom meeting on Sunday morning

Ofir Birenbaum is suing for defamation after deleted and retracted social media posts by Cairo Takeaway inferred he visited the restaurant with reporters to stir up controversy'

Five hours after the Coral Adventurer left Lizard Island without the 80-year-old, it turned back. Her body was found the next day, and her family want answersThe appeal of Lizard Island is its remoteness. The Great Barrier Reef island, 250km from Cairns in Queensland's tropical north, is known for its impressive snorkelling, with giant clams nestled among the coral. It also has a scientific research station.Tourists are mostly kept at bay by its inaccessibility and eye-wateringly high accommodation prices. Continue reading...

Move is strongest endorsement yet for retained rule over disputed territory, despite fierce opposition from AlgeriaThe UN security council has approved a US-backed resolution supporting Morocco's claim to the disputed Western Sahara, despite fierce opposition from Algeria.Although Friday's vote was divided, the resolution offers the strongest endorsement yet for Morocco's plan to keep sovereignty over the territory, which also has backing from most European Union members and a growing number of African allies. Continue reading...

Federal judge rules proof-of-citizenship directive an unconstitutional violation of separation of powersDonald Trump's request to add a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form cannot be enforced, a federal judge ruled on Friday.US district judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington DC, sided with Democratic and civil rights groups that sued the Trump administration over his executive order to overhaul US elections. Continue reading...

Four men given prison terms for desecration that was possibly orchestrated by Russian intelligence services'A French court on Friday jailed four Bulgarians for desecrating a Jewish memorial with red handprints last year, in what prosecutors think may have been foreign interference linked to Russia.The Paris criminal court gave two-year sentences to Georgi Filipov and Kiril Milushev, described as the perpetrators, and four years and three years respectively to Nikolay Ivanov and Mircho Angelov, considered the operation's masterminds". Angelov is still at large. Continue reading...

Northern spotted owls are being squeezed out by the westward migration of the larger barred owlsThe US Senate rejected an effort on Wednesday to halt a contentious US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) plan to kill nearly half a million barred owls in order to save their cousin, the northern spotted owl.John Kennedy, the Republican senator from Louisiana, had hoped to block the proposal by bringing the matter to a vote with a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act. The effort failed with 25 votes to 72 votes. Continue reading...

Retailer says underwear that could become male equivalent of push-up bra is intended to help men feel their most confident'For men who lament the decline of the codpiece, or who lack confidence at the office when their pants are not pushing up their genitals all day, Marks & Spencer is riding to the rescue.The retailer, the UK market leader in selling underwear, has launched what could be considered the male equivalent of the push-up bra. Continue reading...

Women's rights groups say announcement sends important message to survivors of abuseThe historic statement from Buckingham Palace stripping Andrew Mountbatten Windsor of his title is an acknowledgment" that something happened to the late Virginia Giuffre, her family has told the Guardian.In its announcement on Thursday, the palace said Andrew Mountbatten Windsor - as he is now known - will also leave his mansion in Windsor, Royal Lodge, as his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continue to cause controversy. Continue reading...

People of Jamaican coastal town described as storm's ground zero are traumatised and desperate for helpIt is a treacherous journey to Black River, a coastal town in Jamaica's southwestern parish of St Elizabeth, which this week bore the brunt of Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record.Uprooted trees and lamp-posts, rubble from landslides, huge potholes and miles of thick, slippery silt from severe flooding have turned the route into a dangerous obstacle course. Continue reading...

New analysis prompts letter to Trump from Elizabeth Warren: Your administration has no answers for families hit by high energy costs'Donald Trump promised to slash US electricity bills, but they have increased by 11% since he retook the White House, new data shows.Democratic lawmakers highlighted the figures in a letter sent to Trump on Friday. Your administration has no explanations for its failures and no answers for American families that are hit hard by high energy costs, and it continues to actively pursue policies to make this cost crisis worse," reads the missive, led by Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator. Continue reading...

Bank says it alerted US of suspicious' transactions just weeks after paedophile was found dead in New York jail cellJP Morgan warned the US government about more than $1bn in transactions linked to Jeffrey Epstein that were possibly related to reports of human trafficking, new documents confirm.The largest bank in the US filed a suspicious activity report (SAR) in 2019, just weeks after Epstein was found dead in a New York jail cell, about transactions linked to the paedophile financier and prominent business figures. It also flagged wire transfers made by Epstein to Russian banks. Continue reading...

Reports of indiscriminate violence and ethnic targeting in El Fasher have led to growing global outrageSudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces claim to have arrested several of their fighters after outrage over the extent of killing in the city of El Fasher continues to build.But the paramilitary group's move has been greeted with scepticism from human rights campaigners and Sudanese people, who see it as an attempt to temper criticism over the violence. Continue reading...

YouGov poll say only 26% of people say immigration is an issue locally but more than half believe it to be a national issueThere were six council byelections yesterday. Here are the results, from Election Maps UK.Reform gained two seats, from Labour and from an independent group. Continue reading...

Exclusive: No cyber-attack assistance cash has gone into carmaker's accounts or to struggling suppliersJaguar Land Rover has not drawn down any of a 1.5bn loan facility guaranteed by the government, with suppliers expressing anger over ministers' claims to have supported the carmaker's supply chain after a crippling hack.Britain's biggest automotive employer was forced to shut down all of its wholly owned factories from 1 September for more than a month, after cyber-attackers compromised key computer systems. Continue reading...

Indulged by his mother and ignored for too long by his siblings, it is behaviour like Andrew's that could ultimately kill the monarchyIt started with a simple photograph, probably the most consequential ever taken of a member of the royal family.There was Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, Baron Killyleagh and Knight of the Garter, with his arm around a young woman, while Ghislaine Maxwell stood wolfishly grinning in the background. Continue reading...

Regional authority is investing 1.5m in the project but has stipulations about featuring identifiable locations' on screen and the film premiering at an international film festivalThe Madrid regional government is hoping to harness the power of film tourism by investing 1.5m (1.3m) in a new Woody Allen movie that will be shot in and around the Spanish capital and which will be contractually obliged to feature the word Madrid" in its title.Regional authorities are confident the 89-year-old film-maker's next project could do for Madrid what Roman Holiday did for Rome tourism in the early 1950s, and what Sex and the City and Emily in Paris have more recently done to increase visitor numbers to New York and the French capital. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can see the rest of our Europe coverage hereThe ANP news agency offered a bit more colour on how they reached their conclusion, via De Telegraaf.The agency looked at various scenarios of what could happen with the outstanding votes - in Venray and from overseas postal voters - and concluded that, accounting for historical patterns, the PVV could no longer catch up D66, which currently leads by just over 15,000 votes. Continue reading...

Party will take lead in first round of talks to form coalition government after securing majority of votesThe Dutch liberal-progressive party D66 won the most votes in Wednesday's general election, the news agency ANP has reported, putting its 38-year-old leader, Rob Jetten, on course to become the youngest prime minister in the Netherlands.While the last few thousand votes are still being counted, Dutch media reported on Friday that Geert Wilders' anti-immigration, anti-Islam Party for Freedom (PVV) could no longer win. Continue reading...

From snapping up labels to growing its fanbase overseas, Next is dusting off its dull image while increasing profitsWhatever Next? One of the UK's largest clothing retailers is shrugging off its rather dull image and spreading its wings internationally, even as many high street rivals suffer.You may think of Next as a place to buy reliable work clothes, a nice cushion or to kit out the kids - it is the UK's biggest children's clothing seller. However, it has quietly been morphing into something much bigger. Continue reading...

Demonstrators took to streets after president's main challengers were excluded from ballotAbout 700 people have been killed during three days of election protests in Tanzania, the main opposition party has said.Protests erupted on election day on Wednesday over what demonstrators said was the stifling of the opposition after the exclusion of key candidates from the presidential ballot. Continue reading...

Michael Webber admitted attack on Jaysley Beck, then 19, which was not investigated properly by senior officersA former British army sergeant major has been sentenced to six months in prison for sexually assaulting Jaysley Beck, a teenage soldier who killed herself after senior officers failed to investigate the attack properly.Michael Webber, who has left the army, assaulted Gunner Beck during a training exercise in Hampshire in July 2021, when she was 19, the court martial centre in Bulford, Wiltshire, heard. Continue reading...

Leopard print and corduroy? Top Gun jumpsuits? Wossy's wardrobe reveals had as much drama as the round tableSpoiler alert: this article discusses Celebrity Traitors and reveals events contained in episodes one to six.The most exciting moment on each episode of the reality TV show Celebrity Traitors is when the ornate door of the breakfast room swings open to reveal which Faithful has survived another night of murder.This season however, there has been an extra element of anticipation for the contestants and viewers at home. What will Jonathan Ross be wearing? Continue reading...

Women need exclamation marks for good reason!! Plus, Andrew is losing everything he holds dear, including his house full of memoriesThe clocks have gone back. Which is to say, something happened overnight for reasons that I am no closer to understanding now than I was half a century ago as a newborn babe. Continue reading...

Majed al-Ansari calls for international force to be set up urgently to pave way for Israeli withdrawalGaza is sliding towards a deadly limbo where a ceasefire is nominally in place but killing continues, a top Qatari diplomat has warned, calling for rapid progress in setting up the international security force and administration to pave the way for full Israeli withdrawal.We don't want to reach a situation of no war, no peace," said Majed al-Ansari, adviser to Qatar's prime minister and spokesperson for the foreign ministry. Continue reading...

Business secretary calls IPO huge vote of confidence' but shares are launched at bottom end of target range

Robbery in Lyon left five employees slightly injured after explosion in latest high-profile incident to hit countrySix people armed with military-grade weapons have used explosives to break into a gold refining laboratory in Lyon, slightly injuring five employees in the latest high-profile daytime heist to hit France.The audacious raid took place on Thursday afternoon, with police quickly arresting the suspected perpetrators and recovering the loot estimated to be worth 12m (10.5m), officials said. Continue reading...