World news | The Guardian

Director general defence his performance after criticism from culture secretary over catastrophic failures'Tim Davie has insisted he is still the right person to lead the BBC, after a succession of controversies that have led the culture secretary to accuse him of overseeing a series of catastrophic failures".Davie has been under the most intense pressure of his five-year tenure as director general after incidents including the livestreaming of Bob Vylan's performance at the Glastonbury festival, as well as the broadcast of a Gaza documentary that breached the corporation's editorial guidelines. Continue reading...

Former home secretary says Reform councils could struggle if they fail to manage services like bin collections and social careReform UK might have to choose between presenting itself as a new and radical political party or as a home for disgruntled former Conservatives" who lost their seats at the election, James Cleverly has said.Cleverly, the former home and foreign secretary, who stood to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader, also argued that Nigel Farage's party could suffer if the councils it now runs struggle to properly manage key everyday services like bin collections and social care. Continue reading...

Leeds Reforms include streamlined accountability for senior bankers and a campaign to get more consumers investing in the stock market

Singh's east London running club confirms death in India of athlete thought to be first centenarian to run a marathonThe runner Fauja Singh, believed to be the oldest person to complete a marathon, has died in a road accident in India aged 114.The athlete, who lived in Ilford in east London, was hit by a car and suffered fatal injuries while trying to cross a road in his birth village of Beas Pind, near Jalandhar in Punjab, on Monday, according to reports in India. Continue reading...

Troubled utility blames rainfall as pollution incidents rise by a thirdIt will take at least a decade to turn troubled Thames Water around, the boss of the UK's biggest water company said, as it slumped to a 1.6bn annual loss.The loss for the 12 months to 31 March comes after a profit of 154m the previous year, even though revenues climbed by 8.7% to 2.7bn. It had net debt of 16.8bn, up from 15.2bn the year before. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed

Talks between leaders came after Australian camera crews were confronted by Chinese security guards and told to hand over footage

The actor will follow stars including Lenny Henry and Sue Perkins, leading the hit show in which a performer enlists the audience's help to tell funny, sad and unique' storyMinnie Driver has joined the list of stars performing Every Brilliant Thing - a play told by one actor with the help of almost the entire audience - in London's West End. The show opens next month at @sohoplace with Lenny Henry in the principal role; later it will be played by Sue Perkins, Ambika Mod and Jonny Donahoe, the comedian who presided over its triumphant run at the Edinburgh fringe in 2014 and far beyond.For Driver it marks a return to the venue where she performed White Rabbit Red Rabbit for one night last November. That theatrical experiment required a different actor to perform the play, sight unseen, each time. Driver, who shot to fame in the 1990s films Circle of Friends and Good Will Hunting, is no stranger to the London stage. In 2003 she starred in the West End alongside Matthew Perry in David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago. Continue reading...

Matthew Drapper at C of E's St Thomas Philadelphia was told that sexual impurity' had let demons enter his bodyA gay man has been paid compensation from a Church of England parish after he was subjected to an exorcism" to purge him of his homosexuality, it has been reported.Matthew Drapper, 37, was a volunteer at St Thomas Philadelphia, a joint Anglican-Baptist congregation in Sheffield, in 2014 when he was invited to an encounter God weekend" at the contemporary, welcoming church", the Times reported. Continue reading...

Acting commissioner Shane Chelepy says other state agencies should have a greater role in responding to social issues' including DV and mental health

MP says claims filed in support of an application for a domestic violence order are rubbish' and that he has not yet been served with an order

Exclusive: More than a third of employees surveyed say stories about firms hardening stance have had impactA fear of being ordered back to the office is having an impact on workers' wellbeing, according to a poll, after a string of companies issued return-to-office mandates.More than a third (38%) of workers surveyed said recent news stories about companies hardening their stance on office attendance had negatively affected their wellbeing, highlighting the tug-of-war between employers and their employees. Continue reading...

Gibson, who was Colorado's poet laureate and diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer, died at their home on MondayAndrea Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist who through their verse explored gender identity, politics and their four-year battle with terminal ovarian cancer, has died aged 49.Gibson's death was announced on social media by their wife, Megan Falley. Continue reading...

Four more childcare centres added to list of Brown's workplaces and additional employment dates added for 10 other centres

Founded by Lina Lazaar, Ibraaz will host challenging conversations amid growing concerns over freedom of expression in the artsA new London art institution aimed at promoting global majority voices wants to be a space for difficult, urgent questions" alongside civil debate, according to its founder, who claims freedom of expression is under threat.Ibraaz will open this coming October in Fitzrovia, central London, and Lina Lazaar wants the 10,000-square-foot Grade II-listed building to become a bastion for respectful debate without the aggression" seen in a lot of political discourse. Continue reading...

Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting in southern Syria, with government troops sent to restore order also clashing with armed groupsIsrael's army has said it struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes have clashed with Druze militias in the latest escalation in the Middle East country's struggle for stability after a 13-year civil war.Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting between local militias and clans in Syria's Sweida province. Government security forces that were sent to restore order on Monday also clashed with local armed groups. Continue reading...

Ditch the bitch' was emblazoned on a fire truck at a rally against the state's new emergency services levy

Surcharges on Eftpos, Mastercard and Visa card payments would be eliminated from July 2026 under proposal from Reserve Bank

Research finds a third of people rarely meet anyone from a different backgroundThe UK is a powder keg" of social tensions, with a third of people rarely meeting anyone from different backgrounds, research has found.A report from the thinktank British Future and the social cohesion group Belong Network found that a year on from last summer's riots, there was a risk of unrest being reignited unless urgent action was taken to address issues of polarisation and division. Continue reading...

Children from lower-income families also remain significantly behind their peers as impact of pandemic continues to be feltFive-year-olds with special educational needs in England are lagging a record 20 months behind their peers, according to a report that says the country's youngest learners face a deepening crisis", five years after the pandemic.Since Covid closed schools, disrupting learning and triggering falls in attendance, there has been widespread concern about the growing attainment gap that leaves disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs significantly behind their peers. Continue reading...

Northern Ireland secretary cites single soldier's conviction over Troubles-related death in face of opposition to reopening prosecutionsHilary Benn has said that only one soldier" has been convicted over a Troubles-related death since 1998 as he sought to justify Labour plans to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy and Reconciliation Act.The Northern Ireland secretary, speaking at a debate in Westminster Hall, argued that of the 250,000 British military veterans who had served in the country, the number being prosecuted for offences has been very, very small". Continue reading...

Maria Fernanda Rojas Ortiz, 31, reportedly killed alongside Dutch pilot and co-pilot and European male medical professionalA woman on her first day as a flight nurse was reportedly among four people who died onboard a small medical plane that crashed soon after taking off from London Southend airport on Sunday.Maria Fernanda Rojas Ortiz, 31, was a German citizen born in Chile. She had previously worked as a nurse in the public sector and was understood to have married her partner last year. Continue reading...

Shadow minister crashes and burns as Yvette Copper makes statement on new Channel crossing arrangementsIt was all a bit of a mystery. Just where were the Tories? Had they just got their dates confused? Thought that recess started this week rather than next? Or had they all bunked off to Lord's to see England beat India in a tight finish? Or maybe some - caught up in the entente amicale aftermath of Emmanuel Macron's state visit - had taken the Eurostar to Paris to enjoy steak frites on Bastille Day?You'd have thought the Conservative backbenchers would have wanted to be out in force to hear Yvette Cooper's statement on the new arrangements for dealing with small boats. After all, this is the stuff that Kemi Badenoch and Chris Philp live and breathe. The reason they get up in the morning. To wage a two-person war on those making the Channel crossing. So surely Tory MPs would be desperate to have their say. A show of strength. But weirdly there were only five and most of them were to scuttle off long before the end. Continue reading...

Rights activists say Tehran's crackdown must be on agenda in any talks on future relations between Europe and IranIranian human rights groups are urging MEPs and European governments to escalate the issue of Tehran's mistreatment of political prisoners, arguing that the crackdown on internal dissent must be on the agenda in any talks about future relations between Europe and Iran.The Iranian foreign ministry appears to be in no rush to stage further talks with the west without clear US assurances that it will not be attacked again. Continue reading...

US president says he will send Ukraine Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles paid for by EU alliesPoliticians in Kyiv have welcomed Donald Trump's announcement that billions of dollars worth of US military equipment will be sent to Ukraine, while officials in Moscow dismissed his threat of sanctions against Russia as hot air.In a meeting with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, at the White House, Trump said the US would send Patriot anti-aircraft batteries and interceptor missiles, paid for by European allies. Continue reading...

Controversial Gaza humanitarian city' plan, likened to a concentration camp by a former Israeli PM, is hampering ceasefire talks with HamasA feud has broken between the Israeli government and the military over the cost and impact of a planned camp for Palestinians in southern Gaza, as politicians attacked former prime minister Ehud Olmert for warning that the project would create a concentration camp" if it goes ahead.The humanitarian city" project has become a sticking point in ceasefire talks with Hamas. Israel wants to keep troops stationed across significant parts of Gaza, including the ruins of Rafah city in the south, where defence minister, Israel Katz, says the camp will be built. Continue reading...

EU will buy some US weapons for Kyiv as president credits Melania Trump for his disenchantment with Putin

Exclusive: Labour fighting for survival of NHS, health secretary tells MPs as he prepares to meet BMAWes Streeting has said resident doctors' strikes would be a gift to Nigel Farage" before a meeting with the British Medical Association this week where he will seek to avert industrial action.The health secretary told a meeting of Labour MPs on Monday that ministers were in the fight for the survival of the NHS" and if Labour failed, Farage would argue for it to be replaced by an insurance-style system. Continue reading...

Local authorities want government to make it easier to stop flurry of adult gaming centres' targeting poorer areasHigh-street slot machines are reaping record takings as operators expand apace on Britain's high streets, reigniting calls for the government to give councils more power to curb their spread.Overall, betting and gaming revenues - excluding the National Lottery - reached 11.5bn in the year to March 2024, a 3.5% annual increase and the highest figure on record, according to statistics from the Gambling Commission that corrected previous figures. Continue reading...

Prosecutors accuse the defendant of setting fire to many victims' homes to cover up his crimesHearings have begun in the Berlin trial of a German palliative doctor accused of murdering 15 patients in his care using a deadly cocktail of sedatives and setting fire to many of their homes to cover up his crimes.Prosecutors have charged the 40-year-old defendant with 15 counts of murder with premeditated malice and other base motives", and are seeking a life sentence, which in Germany usually amounts to 15 years in prison. Continue reading...

In first annual statement, environment secretary fought back against climate deniers, but his rhetoric needs to stand up to mounting political pressure

Director general apologises and announces changes but faces growing pressure from culture secretary Lisa NandyTim Davie, the BBC's director general, has admitted the broadcaster made a significant failing" over a documentary about children in Gaza, after an internal investigation found that the programme breached editorial guidelines for accuracy.Senior BBC figures have acknowledged that programme-makers failed to ask the right questions about the making of Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone. An internal investigation found viewers should have been made aware of the critical information" that the 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. Continue reading...

Howard Phillips tells court he hoped to trap' agents by offering information about the then defence secretaryA man accused of attempting to hand over the personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to Russian intelligence officers has told a court he was actually trying to expose" the agents.Howard Phillips, 65, was charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service after passing a USB stick containing details relating to Shapps including his home address and the location of his private plane to undercover officers, who prosecutors say he believed to be Russian spies. He previously pleaded not guilty to the charge. Continue reading...

Viewers complain that board allows violence and misogyny in Indian films but not a smooch in a Hollywood releaseAs Indian cinemagoers watched the latest Superman film, many noticed something was amiss. On two occasions as the superhero leaned in for a kiss with Lois Lane, the film suddenly jumped forward, cutting to the aftermath of an embrace.India's censor board had deemed the kissing scenes, including a 33-second smooch, to be overly sensual" for Indian audiences and demanded they be cut from the film before its cinematic release. Continue reading...

Boss of Affinity Water, which serves 3.9 million customers in London and south-east, receives 1.6m

I made every single one of those,' former president insists after claims by Trump over his use of autopenJoe Biden has denied claims that his circle of aides acted without his knowledge when he granted a slew of pardons and commutations in the final days and hours of his presidency.I made every single one of those," the former president told the New York Times in an interview published on Sunday when asked about claims that he was incapacitated and unaware of clemency decisions. Biden called the people making those claims liars", adding, They know it." Continue reading...

Ban on foie gras imports and hunting trophies not brought in, while rules protecting chickens have been weakenedLabour has failed to implement any of its promised animal welfare policies in its first year in office and also weakened protections for chickens, campaigners have said.Among the pledges that have not been implemented are banning the sale of animals with cropped ears, prohibiting imports of hunting trophies and banning imports of foie gras. Some relate to the UK as a whole, others to England, Wales and Scotland and the proposed ban on trail hunting just to England and Wales.End illegal puppy farming and the smuggling of animals including dogs, puppies and kittens.Prohibit the importation of dogs and cats with fashion-based mutilations.Ban the use of snare traps.Ban the importation of heavily pregnant cats and dogs.Accelerate the phasing out of animal testing. Continue reading...

Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, hosting Beyond the Visual, hopes to challenge ocularcentric bias' in galleriesTactile artwork should be commonplace in UK galleries to make sure art is accessible to blind people, while more needs to be done to counter ocularcentric bias", according to the creative team behind a significant new exhibition.In November, the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds will host Beyond the Visual, the first sculpture exhibition curated by and created with the input of blind and partially sighted artists. Continue reading...

Rosario in Sante Fe likely be to 10C above normal, as Japan braces for Tropical Storm NariAn unseasonably mild start to the week is expected in northern and central parts of Argentina, where it is winter. A plume of warm air will sink southwards from neighbouring Paraguay on Monday, lingering through Tuesday, before giving way to a cold front on Wednesday.The maximum daytime temperatures on Monday and Tuesday will be up to 5C (41F) higher than normal in these regions, while Buenos Aires is forecast to be about 7C above average on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Chain reports 147m loss last year as business rates blamed for accelerating closuresThe boss of the pub chain Greene King has called for changes to business rates to remedy unfairness" that he said added to financial pressures on the struggling pubs industry.Nick Mackenzie, Greene King's chief executive, said the business rates system of property taxes should be changed to a tax on profits. Continue reading...

Independent Nicolette Boele defeated Gisele Kapterian with wafer-thin margin of 26 votes after dramatic election recount

Records show company co-directed by Jillian Segal's husband donated $50,000 in 2024 to lobby group which campaigned against Albanese and pro-Palestine protests

Carolina Wilga says she spent 11 nights in outback after leaving van in state of confusion'Carolina Wilga hit her head in a car crash and left her vehicle in a state of confusion" before going missing in the Western Australian outback for 11 nights, the German backpacker has revealed.In the 26-year-old's first statement since flagging down a local woman, Tania, in a passing car on Friday afternoon, Wilga explained the series of events that led to her disappearance. Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege Adam Edward Moule, 34, given instruction to participate in fire and graffiti attack on Newtown synagogue in exchange for payment

Alleged harassment reignited after court hearing in which Nine editors, reporters and lawyers were accused of breaching a suppression order, lawyer tells court

Labour set to point to repercussions of Tory Northern Ireland legislation as justification for repealing itInvestigations into the deaths of more than 200 British soldiers were halted by the Conservatives' Northern Ireland Legacy Act, Labour will announce, as a justification for its intention to repeal the legislation.Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, is expected to tell MPs on Monday afternoon that 202 live inquiries into the Troubles-related killings of members of the armed forces were brought to a stop in May 2024 and a further 23 involving veterans. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Report into Prevent criticises handling of Southport attacker and man who killed MP David AmessA new scheme to detect people who are obsessed with violence before they kill, such as the Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana, should be considered by the government, an official report will say.The report into Prevent, the controversial programme intended to stop people from becoming terrorists, will also find repeated failings" in the case of the man who went on to assassinate the MP Sir David Amess, the Guardian understands. Continue reading...

Archaeologists, anthropologists and forensic experts aim to identify infants buried at former mother and baby home in TuamA century after Irish nuns first began to bury hundreds of infants in what would become a mass, unmarked grave, archaeologists and other specialists will start excavating the site in Tuam, County Galway.A mechanical digger is to slowly start scraping earth on Monday at the 5,000-sq-metre (53,820 sq ft) site where the Bon Secours order is believed have interred 796 infants who died at the St Mary's mother and baby home between 1925 and 1961. Continue reading...

MP calls for region where Battle of Hastings took place to be included in events surrounding return of artworkThe MP for Hastings and Rye has called on the British Museum to let the Bayeux tapestry spend time in 1066 country" when it comes to the UK, and to ensure the region reaps the benefits of the once-in-a-generation exhibition".The tapestry will return to the UK for the first time in more than 900 years as part of a landmark loan agreement announced by the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Continue reading...

Former Greens candidate will sue the state of NSW alleging excessive use of force, solicitor says