World news | The Guardian

Algerian man, 24, released in error' from HMP Wandsworth two days after stronger checks for jails were brought inPolice have launched an urgent search for a second foreign prisoner freed mistakenly, two days after the UK justice secretary, David Lammy, brought in stronger checks for jails.The 24-year-old Algerian man was wrongly released from Wandsworth prison in south London last Wednesday, with the Metropolitan police informed only this week. Continue reading...

The fast-fashion retailer has faced a backlash after the childlike dolls were discovered for sale on its websiteThe French government has said it will suspend the fast-fashion shopping website Shein amid controversy over its sale of childlike sex dolls.The announcement came as Shein opened its first brick-and-mortar store in the world in Paris amid a heavy police presence. Continue reading...

Plan to cut journey times between major cities could reduce Berlin-Copenhagen trip from seven to four hoursBreakfast in Berlin, lunch in Copenhagen, with a fast and easy train journey to pass the morning? Or a midday meal in Sofia, then taking the high-speed line to arrive in Athens just in time for an evening aperitif? Both could be possible if a vision for European high-speed rail travel ever becomes a reality.A faster, truly European" high-speed rail network could be possible by 2040, the EU executive said on Wednesday, as it revealed plans to dramatically cut journey times between major cities. Continue reading...

Releasing MRFF funds not only secures the future of Australia's research sector; it delivers better health outcomes', Kooyong MP says

Jordan Schwarzenberger says BBC is becoming irrelevant to gen Z and risks crashing unless it attracts younger viewersThe BBC risks becoming the Titanic of the media world and culturally irrelevant to gen Z unless it embraces a radical shift" towards reaching young audiences, the manager of one of the most successful YouTube collectives has warned.Jordan Schwarzenberger, the manager of the Sidemen, who have well over 100 million subscribers between them, said he believed the corporation produced great entertainment" and wanted it to succeed. Continue reading...

Ukraine's general staff denies claims its troops have been encircled but military analysts say situation has deteriorated sharply in recent daysMoscow's forces appear to be tightening their grip on Pokrovsk, as street fighting continues in the strategic eastern Ukrainian city, much of which now lies in ruins.Ukraine's general staff on Wednesday denied Russian claims that its troops had been encircled, saying efforts were under way to reinforce the flanks around Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad. Continue reading...

Stuart Machin says shoppers are concerned about rising costs after chancellor failed to rule out manifesto-breaking tax rises

Pontiff says authorities must address the spiritual rights of those held in custody amid immigration crackdownPope Leo has called for deep reflection" in the US about the treatment of migrants held in detention, saying that many people who have lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what is going on right now".The Chicago-born pope was responding late on Tuesday to a range of geopolitical questions from reporters outside the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, including what kind of spiritual rights migrants in US custody should have, US military attacks on suspected drug traffickers off Venezuela and the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East. Continue reading...

Two people in intensive care and a driver arrested after incident on Ile d'Oleron on Wednesday, say authoritiesA driver rammed into pedestrians and cyclists on France's tourist-frequented Ile d'Oleron off the Atlantic coast on Wednesday, injuring several people including four seriously, authorities said.The 35-year-old driver was arrested by police and an investigation has been opened, the interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said in a post on X. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, our new live blog is hereat the Ziegfeld Ballroom in midtown ManhattanThere's a couple of hundred Cuomo supporters at his watch party now. I just saw a man down a bottle of Stella Artois. No sign of Cuomo yet. Among the attenders is Suzanne Miller, a realtor who volunteered for the Cuomo campaign. She said she is 50-50" about his chances of winning. Miller said she was nervous because of Zohran Mamdani's energetic closing few days of the campaign. Continue reading...

Regulator also considers forcing companies to report pay received from parent firms after Guardian investigationWater company bosses were blocked from receiving 4m in bonuses for the last financial year - and the industry regulator is considering forcing companies to report pay received from parent companies after a Guardian investigation.Ofwat, the regulator for English and Welsh water firms, said six companies had complied with the new rules governing the sector and did not pay out bonuses to bosses. However, it is consulting on further rules to force the disclosure of payments by other companies after the revelation that Yorkshire Water's chief executive, Nicola Shaw, had received 1.3m in secret payments via an offshore parent company. Continue reading...

Allowing three-storey townhouses and apartments to be built across all residential land would unlock more than 1m homes in Sydney alone, according to modelling

Exclusive: Jason Falinski says cutting net zero would tell young Australians we have given up' and could have negative impact at next election

Wayne Hunt didn't receive full medical assessment after seizure in cell and died days later, coroner hears

This blog is now closed

Google search results displayed false information from an AI website about drivers risking a $250 fine for not keeping their headlights on at all times

Blikk, a tabloid with about 3 million online monthly readers, bought by pro-Orban media group IndamediaJournalists at Hungary's most-read newspaper have expressed shock after a media group seen as close to nationalist prime minister Viktor Orban's party, Fidesz, bought the tabloid from its previous Swiss owners.The purchase, which comes as Hungary gears up for crucial elections next year in which Orban faces an unprecedented opposition challenge, is widely seen as another attempt to increase government influence on the media. Continue reading...

Shutdown beats record set during Trump's first term as succession of Senate votes fails to yield breakthroughThe US government shutdown became the longest in history on Wednesday, crossing the 36-day mark with no end in sight as Republican and Democratic senators remained at loggerheads over restarting funding to shuttered federal departments.The shutdown beat the previous 35-day record set in December 2018 and January 2019 during Donald Trump's first term, when government funding legislation was held up over his insistence on including money to build a wall along the border with Mexico. Continue reading...

Jane Hume says politicians should not be using straightforward legislation as a Trojan horse' for personal opinions

Aircraft erupted into fireball after takeoff at Louisville international airport, and officials say fatalities could riseA UPS cargo plane crashed shortly after take off, erupting into a massive fireball near the Louisville Muhammad Ali international airport in Kentucky, leaving at least seven dead and 11 injured, the state's governor, Andy Beshear, said. Beshear said he expects those numbers to grow.Flames from the crash ignited a string of fires on the ground in an industrial corridor adjacent to the international airport, apparently accounting for one of the confirmed fatalities and the injuries of 11 people, who according to airport officials were taken to hospital. Continue reading...

Former congresswoman beats Republican Winsome Earle-Sears to become Virginia's first female governor

Sherrill defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli in race that suggests Democratic resilience amid Trump's second term

Maritime authority officers investigating the death of Suzanne Rees, 80, board the ill-fated ship on its return to Cairns

The democratic socialist promised free childcare, fast buses and a rent freeze - can he deliver before New Yorkers lose patience?

Democrats maintain 5-2 majority as three judges win 10-year terms in a key swing-state court

Six people were killed in a separate incident when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del SurTyphoon Kalmaegi has left at least 52 people dead with 13 others missing in the central Philippines, mostly in widespread flooding that trapped people on their roofs and swept away scores of cars in a hard-hit province still recovering from a deadly earthquake, officials said on Wednesday.Six people were killed in a separate incident when a Philippine air force helicopter crashed in the southern province of Agusan del Sur on Tuesday while en route to help provide humanitarian help to provinces battered by Kalmaegi, the military said without providing other details, including what could have caused the crash. Continue reading...

The Associated Press projects Democrat Abigail Spanberger has won the Virginia governor's race, defeating Republican Winsome Earle-Sears

Pentagon secretary says two people killed in attack on boat in eastern Pacific, bringing total killed to 66 in 16 strikesDefense secretary Pete Hegseth announced yet another deadly strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, coming the same day an aircraft carrier began heading to the region in a new expansion of military firepower.The attack Tuesday killed two people aboard the vessel, Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration's campaign in South American waters up to at least 66 people in at least 16 strikes. Continue reading...

Secrecy around public release of 2023 review findings has angered crossbenchers in parliament, leading to Senate question time revolt

Popular platform added to list of companies required to restrict access for children, along with video streaming site Kick

Six of biggest providers to roll out new technology over next 12 months in effort to prevent fraud by foreign call centresSix of the biggest phone companies have said they will work together and upgrade their systems to stop fraudsters being able to spoof" UK phone numbers and commit fraud.New technology is expected to be rolled out over the next year that will stop criminals impersonating legitimate bodies and subsequently duping people into believing they are talking to real companies, banks and government departments. Continue reading...

Answers demanded after 23,500 families wrongly suspected of fraud when incorrect data showed they had left UKMPs are demanding answers from HMRC over a child benefit error in which payments to 23,500 families were stopped as part of an anti-fraud crackdown.Meg Hillier, a Labour MP and chair of the House of Commons Treasury select committee, has written to the permanent secretary of HMRC asking who made the decisions, why they were made and whether compensation would be offered to the victims. Continue reading...

Proposals include shortening length of GCSE exams, a new diagnostic test in maths and English, and expanding RE

From The Bends to A Moon Shaped Pool, nearly the whole album discography was accounted for at the art-rockers' first gig since 2018Let Down

Exclusive: Health secretary and NHS England chief warn of winter pressures and rising levels of abuseAn ugly" racism reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s has become worryingly commonplace again in modern Britain and NHS staff are bearing the brunt of it, Wes Streeting has warned.Incidents of verbal and physical abuse based on people's skin colour now happen so often that it has become socially acceptable to be racist", the health secretary said. Continue reading...

The ironies of Cheney's parting of ways with Donald Trump and modern day Republicans are numerous

Agreement that will increase drivers' pay to nearly 80,000 by 2027 comes after strike action in SeptemberThe RMT union has accepted a three-year inflation-plus pay deal for London Underground workers, ending the dispute that led to travel chaos in London in September and increasing drivers' pay to nearly 80,000 by 2027.The deal, with an initial 3.4% increase backdated to this April, means London Underground staff pay will rise in line with RPI inflation - higher than the CPI rate normally used for index-linked pay rises - with guaranteed minimum rates if inflation falls, making the total deal worth at least 9.2%. Continue reading...

Former US vice-president seen as a key figure in expanding White House's power and corrupting the intelligence-policy relationship'

Antonio Guterres calls for the violence to end but there appears little appetite for ceasefire proposed by USThe UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres has said the war in Sudan is spiralling out of control as he called for a halt to the fighting and an end to the violence.The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which are reportedly backed by the United Arab Emirates, seized El Fasher in Darfur last week after a near 18-month siege. Some of its soldiers have posted videos of civilians being shot, including in the town's maternity hospital. Continue reading...

Discovery of new information leads to decision for specialist officers to take over investigation into Peacehaven fireCounter-terrorism police are to take over the investigation into an arson attack on a mosque in an English seaside town, police have said.The attack in Peacehaven, East Sussex, took place on 4 October. Two people who were inside the mosque when the fire was started had to flee for their lives. Continue reading...

The chancellor appears to believe voters will forgive a broken promise in return for meaningful investment

Brazilian president Lula called police assault on two of Rio's largest clusters of favelas disastrous' and a massacre'Brazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has said his government will seek an independent investigation into what he called a disastrous" police massacre" that left at least 121 people dead.Four officers and at least 117 others were killed when police launched a major assault on two of Rio's largest clusters of favelas, the Complexo do Alemao and the Complexo da Penha, early last Tuesday to execute 100 arrest warrants. Continue reading...

Former footballer on trial over offensive' social media posts about broadcastersBroadcaster and former footballer Lucy Ward was left intimidated" and physically scared" by social media posts made by Joey Barton, a jury has heard.Ward, 51, was giving evidence to Liverpool crown court on Tuesday in a case against former footballer and manager Barton, 43, who is accused of 12 counts of sending a grossly offensive electronic communication with intent to cause distress or anxiety. Continue reading...

Cheney, who served under presidents from Nixon to George W Bush, will be remembered for key role after 9/11Dick Cheney, the divisive US vice-president under George W Bush who helped lead the country into a disastrous invasion of Iraq, died on Monday, his family has said. He was 84.Cheney at various times held the roles of member of Congress, White House chief of staff and secretary of defense, but it was as one of the country's most powerful vice-presidents that he had the biggest impact, wielding great influence over the less experienced Bush. Continue reading...

Top lawyers call for change in rhetoric that has left minority ethnic Britons fearful as politicians target migrants

This live blog is now closedWe will formally get the EU's commentary on the enlargement ratings (9:26) in just over an hour - when EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and EU enlargment commissioner Marta Kos are due to speak to journalists - but we have just had a brief glimpse of what's coming during Kos's appearance in the European parliament.She said these have been significant advances on the EU path achieved so far by Montenegro, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine," stressing that reforms pay off."I can say that these four candidates have matched their ambitions with concrete actions. Continue reading...

I made a mistake' says artist who included cloned archway on Halloween float for a Catholic schoolA Pennsylvania artist's efforts to create a Halloween float for a local Catholic school went awry when he inadvertently included a replica of the gateway arch from a Nazi concentration camp, prompting a hasty apology from the diocese of Harrisburg.In apologizing for the fiasco, Galen Shelly told PennLive that a lighted archway and lanterns he ordered to decorate a parade float he was building for Hanover's St Joseph's school did not arrive in time - so he searched the internet for images of cemetery gates to represent the idea that none of us get out of this life alive". Continue reading...

Boy had sought court order to force his return, after parents took him on trip to Ghana and returned without himA British teenager whose parents left him in Ghana, fearing he was at risk from gang culture" in the UK, should stay there until at least the end of his GCSE exams, a judge sitting at London's high court has ruled.The boy took legal action against his parents, seeking a court order that would force his return, after they enrolled him in a boarding school and arranged for him to live with extended family in Ghana without telling him. Continue reading...

Billionaire businessman's family owns Hinduja Group, which has interests across oil, banking and real estate