World news | The Guardian

Outsourcing firm Mitie listed several roles aimed at providing safe and productive' environment for detaineesJobs aimed at improving the wellbeing of people at an immigration detention centre, including holding workshops in floristry and balloon craft, are unnecessary and should be removed, a government minister has said.The outsourcing firm Mitie, which manages the Heathrow immigration removal centre (IRC) in west London, listed several roles online, including a painting and decorating tutor and gym manager, for salaries ranging between 31,000 and 38,000. Continue reading...

Veteran rocker characterises US administration as fascistic in song recorded at Chicago sound checkNeil Young has released a new song lambasting Donald Trump, entitled Big Crime.The Canadian-American rocker has long been a critic of the US president, suing him (but later dropping the lawsuit) over the use of his songs at campaign rallies and calling him the worst president in the history of our great country". Continue reading...

Follow today's news live

Victoria police arrested and interviewed a 42-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy, releasing them pending further inquiries'

Missile strikes on Ukrainian capital hit EU and British Council offices in deadliest assault in monthsThe UK and European Union have summoned their Russian envoys after overnight missile strikes on Kyiv killed at least 23 people and damaged the city's British Council and EU offices, in the deadliest aerial assault on the Ukrainian capital since the Alaska summit between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.Four children were among those killed after a residential building in the eastern Darnytskyi district was struck in the middle of the night, according to Ukraine's interior minister, Ihor Klymenko. Continue reading...

Gusts reaching up to 130km/h expected to push further into south-eastern states on Saturday, bringing showers, hail and thunderstorms

Exhibition explores Bank's former grandeur and its rebuilding under Sir Herbert Baker that began 100 years agoA century ago the wrecking ball demolished the halls, courtyards, arches and domes of one of London's best-loved buildings in what the architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner would decry as the greatest architectural crime" to befall the capital in the 20th century.The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street (as the Bank of England was nicknamed after a satirical 1797 cartoon of William Pitt the Younger, prime minister from 1783 to 1801, wooing an old lady dressed in pound notes) has been the heart of the City since 1734. Continue reading...

Campaigners call for Paris-style parking charges amid fears big vehicles are taking up excessive public spaceThe number of giant cars in England's cities has increased tenfold in recent years, according to researchers, who warn the vehicles are taking up excessive public space and posing a threat to public safety.Analysis published by Clean Cities has found SUVs have gone from 3% to 30% of existing cars in the past two decades. In London, the number of SUVs has increased from about 80,000 in 2002 to about 800,000 in 2023. Continue reading...

Media company mulling defamation action after independent MP calls reporter Josh Bavas a racist' for asking a question about Katter's Lebanese heritage

Reality TV star accused of trying to cover up evidence following the February 2022 crash that killed co-star Chris Willow' Wilson

A fight over a redrawing of the congressional map in Texas united Democrats across the country. This week, we hear from the state representative Nicole Collier about why she slept on the House floor for two nights, and Jonathan Freedland speaks to the KQED reporter Marisa Lagos about why the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, sees an opportunity in fighting dirtyArchive: ABC 7, ABC 10, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, DRM News, Fox 11 Los Angeles, Fox Business, KARE 11, KPRC 2 Click2Houston, MSNBC, WHAS11, WKYC Channel 3 Texas, WSYX ABC6, WTKR News 3 Continue reading...

Footage from a small North Island town store is the first confirmed sighting of Tom Phillips in a year, nearly four years after he disappeared with his three childrenNew CCTV footage believed to show New Zealand fugitive Tom Phillips and one of his children allegedly breaking into and stealing from a convenience store has been released by police.Detective senior sergeant Andy Saunders told media on Friday that investigators believe the pair in the video are Phillips and one of his three children, who vanished almost four years ago. It is the first confirmed sighting of Phillips in a year. Continue reading...

Prime minister Narendra Modi's four-day trip, which includes Japan visit, comes while India seeks to diversify trade and bolster ties with BeijingIndian prime minister Narendra Modi will land in China this weekend for his first visit in seven years - a trip that puts him in the company of Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin just as India's ties with Washington have soured.Modi's visit to Tianjin for a regional security summit comes days after the US doubled tariffs on Indian exports to 50%, citing New Delhi's refusal to stop buying Russian oil. Continue reading...

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of former prime minister Thaksin, has been accused her of failing to protect Thailand's interestsThailand's constitutional court will decide on Friday whether suspended prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra should be removed from office over comments she made in a leaked phone call to the former leader of Cambodia.Paetongtarn, Thailand's youngest prime minister, was suspended last month after a recording was leaked of her phone conversation with Hun Sen, in which they discussed a simmering border dispute between the neighbouring countries. Continue reading...

Merseyside chief constable, who is retiring, also dismisses claims asylum seekers are to blame for a crime waveThe Reform party's promise to abolish policies on equality and diversity is ludicrous" and threatens to take policing and society backwards, one of the country's most senior chief constables has said.Serena Kennedy retires on Sunday as the chief constable of Merseyside police, after a tumultuous four years in charge. Continue reading...

Research estimates 90% of Britons over 50 with autism aren't getting right treatment and face added difficultiesResearchers have called for better support for middle-aged and older autistic people after a review found that 90% of autistic people aged over 50 in Britain are either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.Greater awareness of autism and improved assessments globally mean it is typically spotted in childhood today. But in past decades autistic people were often forced to navigate middle and old age without the support a diagnosis can unlock. Continue reading...

Experts say country needs wake-up call' with levels far below those needed for herd immunityEngland needs to wake up" to its faltering infant vaccination programme, experts have warned, as it was revealed that one in five children start primary school unprotected from serious infectious diseases.According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the target for vaccine uptake among children in order to achieve herd immunity is 95%. But figures for 2024-25 released by the UK Health Security Agency on Thursday show that no childhood vaccine has met this requirement. Continue reading...

British singer, 37, also cancels US shows as she focuses on treatmentJessie J has postponed a concert tour after revealing she will undergo a second operation as part of her breast cancer treatment.The 37-year-old singer, whose full name is Jessica Cornish, announced her diagnosis in June when she began treatment. Continue reading...

Town celebrates and club shop sells merchandise around world after League Two side defeat Premier League giants in Carabao Cup tieI felt like I was dreaming, honestly," said Wayne Brightmore, 49, after watching Grimsby Town, the football club he has supported since he was a boy, pull off a historic win by beating one of the biggest teams in the world.Seeing us beat Manchester United at Blundell Park didn't feel real," he said. It's dreamland for us, we couldn't have imagined anything better." Continue reading...

US firm Eli Lilly reportedly tells British wholesalers to stop taking orders as demand soars before September price rise

Decision by European powers follows Iran's failure to readmit UN inspectors to all of its nuclear sitesThe UK, France and Germany are expected to announce on Thursday that they will reimpose sweeping sanctions on Iran for failing to readmit UN inspectors into all of its nuclear sites.The decision, under consideration for months, is likely to provoke the worst crisis in Iran's relations with the west since Israel's attacks on the country's nuclear sites in June. Iran is already preparing countermeasures. Continue reading...

Nottinghamshire council's administration says it will no longer deal with local paper, in unprecedented moveA Reform council leader's decision to ban his councillors from engaging with a prominent local newspaper is a massive attack on local democracy" and a sign of things to come should the party form the next government, the outlet's editor has warned.In an unprecedented move, Nottinghamshire county council's four-month-old Reform administration has said it will no longer deal with the Nottingham Post, its online edition and a team of BBC-funded local democracy journalists that it manages. Continue reading...

The Victory Day parade in Beijing on 3 September will mark the formal surrender of Japan during the second world war. No western leaders will attendVladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are among the world leaders who will attend a military parade with President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week, in a show of collective defiance amid western pressure.No western leaders will be among the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week - with the exception of Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, a member of the European Union - according to the Chinese foreign ministry. Continue reading...

Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin disappointed' in comments by two of his MPs as Deeming says debate was planned weeks before Porepunkah deaths

Democrats voted against appointing two candidates known for election denialism and voter registration challenges

Political leaders and parents react after assailant opened fire on Catholic schoolchildren gathered in a church

Sean Charles Dunn was arrested after allegedly throwing food at a Customs and Border Protection agent

State news agency Anadolu reports that Ali K, 23, was wounded by shots fired by a female relative of his wifeA groom has died of injuries he sustained from celebratory gunfire after his wedding in northern Turkey.As the newlyweds were being escorted home after the ceremony, the groom, identified as Ali K aged 23, was wounded by gunfire, allegedly at the hands of a female relative of his wife, the state news agency Anadolu reported. Continue reading...

Greg Jackson joins powerful group of advisers and says he wants to improve public services without spending moreKeir Starmer has appointed the outspoken founder of Octopus Energy as an adviser, with a remit to challenge government thinking.Greg Jackson has joined the Cabinet Office board, an influential core of government advisers, as a non-executive member. Continue reading...

Ofwat gives struggling company breathing space as it scrambles to secure funding to avoid nationalisationThames Water has agreed a payment plan with the industry regulator for fines it owes worth 123m, as it races to secure funding to avoid temporary nationalisation.The utility company, which serves 16 million customers across London and the south-east, is trying to pull together a deal to avoid collapse. Continue reading...

Trump turns national guard troops deployed in DC into jacks of all tradesNational guard troops have spent their last days of the summer mulching cherry trees, collecting trash and clearing homeless camps across Washington DC, as Donald Trump's federal takeover of the capital evolved the guard from makeshift cops to armed jacks of all trades.More than 2,200 soldiers from states including Mississippi and Louisiana have been stationed across the city since Trump declared a crime emergency" on 11 August. However, their responsibilities now encompass clearing out Union Station and what officials term beautification" projects, including trash collection, mulching around cherry trees at the Tidal Basin, and potential graffiti removal. Continue reading...

Danish foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen says any attempt to interfere in kingdom's internal affairs is unacceptableOpening the press conference, Merz says he wanted to revive the tradition of cabinet discussions on security to show the issue is treated seriously and to send a signal" to EU and Nato allies.Merz says before the meeting, they met with Nato's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Alexus Grynkewich, to discuss the military situation. Continue reading...

Danish media reports three men with ties to Donald Trump are accused of attempting to infiltrate Greenlandic societyDenmark has summoned the US charge d'affaires for an urgent meeting over an alleged influence campaign in Greenland aimed at shaping public opinion and the future of the Arctic territory.It comes after reports from Danish media, confirmed by the Danish foreign office, that at least three US men with ties to Donald Trump and the White House had been accused of trying to infiltrate Greenlandic society. Continue reading...

Explosive weapons designed to be used in battle are being used in urban areas, says Medecins Sans Frontieres

Multi-agency report says girl at 13 had fascination with Hitler, weapons and claimed to speak German and RussianA teenager given a 15-year sentence for attempting to murder three people at her school in south-west Wales when she was 13 had been considered for referral to the anti-extremism Prevent programme over her interest in Adolf Hitler, according to a new inquiry.The girl, now 15, who cannot be named for legal reasons, used a knife to stab two teachers and a pupil at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, in April 2024. She told police after her arrest: That's one way to be a celebrity." Continue reading...

Woman barred from Leeds mortuaries after one mother said she found dead baby propped up watching' cartoonsA funeral director has been banned from working with hospitals in Leeds after a mother said she was left screaming when she found her dead baby propped up watching" cartoons at the woman's home.Amie Upton has been banned from NHS maternity wards and mortuaries in the city after keeping babies' bodies at her house in circumstances that a grandmother of another baby compared to a horror film. Continue reading...

Reform leader tells event in Scotland deporting women and children is not part of his party's plans for the next five years

Record lift for Danish firm comes as sales for UK-based Yoto, creator of screen-free speakers for children, almost doubleLego said it could be benefiting from parents' desire to keep children - and themselves - away from smartphones as sales rose 12%, helped by strong sales of its Botanicals and Formula One grand prix-themed sets.The Danish toy company said sales increased to a record 34.6bn Danish kroner (4bn) in the first half of the year, rising well ahead of the recovering global toy market in which sales rose 7%. Continue reading...

Last year's total fertility rate of 1.41 was lowest since comparable data was first collected in 1938, ONS saysThe fertility rate for England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row to reach a record low, figures show.The total fertility rate across both nations, meaning the average number of live children women can expect to have across their child-bearing life, stood at 1.41 in 2024, down from 1.42 in 2023, the lowest since comparable data was first collected in 1938, according to the Office for National Statistics. Continue reading...

Suspect detained after Sean Small, who had recently served prison sentence for sex offences, found dead in NewcastlePolice in Northern Ireland have arrested a man on suspicion of the murder of Sean Small, an 84-year-old who had recently served a prison sentence for sex offences.The suspect, in his 40s, was detained on Tuesday two days after Small's body was discovered outside his home on Slievenabrock Avenue in Newcastle, County Down. Continue reading...

A peaceful Victoria town has been rocked by the fatal shootings of two police officers, leaving locals shuttered indoors and police scouring bushland for the suspect

Victoria police say alleged shooter remains on the run and armed after two officers killed and a third injured

Police say suspect Dezi Freeman knows Victorian high country bushland better than us', as tributes paid to two dead officers

Items buried at Great Ormond Street hospital dug up early to make way for construction of children's cancer centreMore than 30 years after it was buried, a time capsule compiled by Diana, Princess of Wales and two children to represent life in the 1990s has been opened prematurely - revealing a Kylie Minogue CD, a solar-powered calculator and a passport.The lead-encased wooden box was sealed in 1991 to mark the laying of the foundation stone of Great Ormond Street hospital's Variety Club building, which opened in 1994 to replace outdated buildings and clinical facilities. Continue reading...

Serious collision' on Hamilton Highway in Victoria during school pick-up for Christian College Geelong

Announcement comes after the federal government admitted the use of income apportionment to determine welfare payments was invalid

Follow today's news live

Cities in Japan have received thousands of complaints amid confusion over scheme that was intended to foster closer tiesAn attempt to promote friendship between Japan and countries in Africa has transformed into a xenophobic row about migration after inaccurate media reports suggested the scheme would lead to a flood of immigrants".The controversy erupted after the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA, said this month it had designated four Japanese cities as Africa hometowns" for partner countries in Africa: Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania. Continue reading...

Those who take drug because of pain, anxiety or depression found to be more likely to develop paranoia than recreational smokersPeople who start smoking cannabis to alleviate pain, anxiety or depression are at a higher risk of developing paranoia than those who use the drug recreationally, a study has found.The research analysed answers from 3,389 former and current cannabis users aged over 18, who had no clinical history of psychosis and had taken part in the Cannabis&Me survey. Continue reading...

Grace Chambers, whose daughter dared her to join nine years ago, hopes to be first centenarian at her local eventWhen Grace Chambers ran her first parkrun, it was the result of a dare. Now, nine years later, and at 97 years old, she has reached the sought-after milestone of 250 runs.Chambers first took part after her daughter Michele registered her for the free, weekly timed events that take place in parks and public spaces in several countries around the globe. Continue reading...