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Albanese government under pressure to ensure stiff penalties are imposed as emergency management minister blasts telco as absolutely disgraceful"

Exclusive: Ex-minister being tried in absentia in Bangladesh claims ID card and passport tendered as evidence not hersThe former City minister Tulip Siddiq has said she fears prosecutors could be planning to use fake" documents to secure her conviction in her trial in Bangladesh on corruption charges.The Labour MP, who is being tried in absentia, spoke out after images of a Bangladeshi national identity card and a passport said to be in her name were published in newspapers in the UK and in Bangladesh. Continue reading...

Tamzin Hall, 17, was struck by a vehicle after leaving a police car on the M5 motorway in Somerset after being arrested at a children's homeThe mother of a girl who was struck by a vehicle and killed after she left a police car on a motorway says the untimely death of her daughter came after years of frustration and disappointment with authorities over the teenager's care.Tamzin Hall, 17, had been arrested and was being taken into custody when she left the police vehicle in which she was travelling on the M5 northbound between Taunton and Bridgwater in Somerset on 11 November 2024. Continue reading...

Imedi TV owner denies criticism by EU disinformation monitor and says it is editorially independentOn Pont Street in Belgravia in central London, on the first floor of a handsome Edwardian townhouse, sitting above the royal green awning of the Jeroboams wine shop, is an office. There are no obvious signs for it beyond a little note next to the intercom. When buzzed this week, no one appeared at the door.This is the registered office of Hunnewell Partners, which describes itself as an entrepreneurial private equity and litigation funding practice". Continue reading...

Rightwingers had long complained of a censorious leftwing cancel culture' but seem happy to now reframe that as consequence culture'In the emotionally and politically charged days since the killing of Charlie Kirk, the conservative youth activist who was a close ally of Donald Trump, one statement has loomed large. On Monday, the US attorney general - the official in charge of the rule of law in America - said that the Trump administration would absolutely target" those who espouse hate speech" about Kirk.Unlike in many other countries, hate speech is protected by US law unless it incites imminent violence or constitutes a true threat. But that did not deter the nation's top law enforcement officer, who also suggested that - for example - a print shop employee who refused to print flyers memorializing Kirk could be prosecuted". Continue reading...

Marie-Clare Boothby faces questions after revealing she is related to man spared prison over a crash that killed Aboriginal pedestrian

Keir Starmer expected to confirm move after concluding the situation has worsened significantly in recent weeksThe UK is expected to recognise a Palestinian state on Sunday after Israel failed to meet the conditions set out by Keir Starmer in July.The prime minister is to make the announcement after concluding the humanitarian situation has deteriorated significantly in the past few weeks. The move comes despite pressure from the US and the families of hostages held by Hamas. Continue reading...

Deputy leadership candidate says party needs to be clear that our objective is to lift children out of poverty'Labour should consider raising taxes on gambling firms to cover the cost of lifting the two-child benefit cap, the party's deputy leadership candidate Lucy Powell has suggested.The Manchester Central MP, who is battling with the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, to succeed Angela Rayner as Labour's deputy leader, also acknowledged the public was exasperated" because of some mistakes" Labour had made in office. Continue reading...

Thirty arrests made and two officers injured as teargas and water cannon deployed against violent protestersDutch police have used teargas and a water cannon to disperse violent anti-immigration protesters in The Hague on Saturday, a local government spokesperson has said.Thirty people have been arrested and two police officers were injured. Authorities did not rule out additional arrests in the coming days as they review camera footage. Continue reading...

The long-established Kingsford Smith faces new challenger Western Sydney in race to attract passengers, cargo and cash

Attack raises questions over security as Brussels and Berlin airports' check-in and boarding systems also affectedFlights have been delayed and cancelled at three leading European airports - including London's largest, Heathrow - after the company behind the software used for check-in and boarding said it was hit by a cyber-attack.Airports in Brussels and Berlin are also experiencing delays and disruption as a result of the problem affecting Collins Aerospace, which works for several airlines at airports across the world. Continue reading...

How dare the nationalists steal our flags?' asks Tim Farron at party conference in BournemouthPeople who use the union jack or St George's cross as a form of aggressive nationalism do not love their country, a senior Liberal Democrat has said, as he hit back at a wave of hard-right activism based around the flags.In a strongly worded speech to a rally opening the party's annual conference in Bournemouth, Tim Farron, a former leader who now speaks for the party on the environment and rural affairs, said national flags should never be used to intimidate". Continue reading...

Press freedom group says brutal and unjustified attack' is deadliest since 2009 Maguindanao massacre in PhilippinesThirty one journalists and media staff were killed by Israeli strikes on newspaper offices in Yemen last week in what the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Friday was the deadliest attack on journalists in the last 16 years.Israel struck a newspaper complex in Sana'a, Yemen's capital, which housed three Houthi-connected media outlets on 10 September. At the time, members of the Yemeni army's press arm were finishing the weekly print edition, according to the publication's editor-in-chief, which increased the number of journalists present during the strike. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on the war in Ukraine hereAt least 10 flights were cancelled out of Brussels airport and another 17 delayed by over an hour after the system was hit by a cyber-attack" overnight on Friday, the airport said.EasyJet, among Europe's biggest airlines, said it was currently operating as normal and did not expect the problem to impact its flights for the rest of the day, Reuters reports.Information on the situation is being continuously gathered, and Polish authorities are in contact with authorities in other countries. Continue reading...

Boy's body was found Friday after he drowned in family's vehicle when it was swept off the road by flood watersA two-year-old drowned in a vehicle that was swept away by flood waters in southern California, and the child's father had to be rescued by authorities, officials said Friday.The deadly emergency unfolded amid sudden heavy rain east of Los Angeles that unleashed mudslides which plowed into homes and trapped drivers for hours on roadways. Continue reading...

The producer and DJ, real name Keith McIvor, had been diagnosed with an untreatable brain tumour earlier this yearJD Twitch, the Scottish DJ and producer celebrated as one half of the duo Optimo, has died aged 57.The artist, whose real name was Keith McIvor, had been diagnosed with an untreatable brain tumour, which he announced in July. He died on Friday in Glasgow's Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice, his DJ partner Jonnie Wilkes (AKA JG Wilkes) announced. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president will urge his US counterpart to impose more sanctions on Russia when they meet next week

Iranian foreign ministry urges further diplomacy and says return to pre-2015 measures are unlawful and unfoundedThe UN security council failed to pass a resolution on Friday that would have prevented the reimposition of UN sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme before the deadline for the snapping back" of punitive measures.UN sanctions on Iran are set to be re-established at the end of the month unless the nine-member security council agrees to further extend sanctions relief. Friday's resolution, put forth by South Korea, only received support from four countries - China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria. Continue reading...

Matthew Dowd tells Katie Couric ex-employer concurred but it didn't matter' and they dismissed him anywayThe political analyst fired by MSNBC over his Charlie Kirk commentary says his former employer agreed with him that his remarks were being misconstrued as insensitive" - but said it didn't matter" to the network, and they dismissed him anyway.I said: I think you guys are making a huge mistake,'" Matthew Dowd recounted on Katie Couric's podcast in an episode launched Friday that addressed his purported pre-firing discussions with MSNBC. I said: You know and I know that's not anything what I meant. You know it's been misconstrued,' and they agreed with that. Continue reading...

Officials fear widespread unrest amid violence and intimidation of ethnic minoritiesNorthern Ireland faces a permacrisis" from recurring race riots and may need to use military bases to shelter people burnt out of their homes, government documents reveal.Officials fear the region faces prolonged instability and that a single incident, local or international, could spark widespread disorder. Continue reading...

Chancellor's invitation criticised as strange timing' with Treasury looking at whether to raise duties on 12bn sectorThe chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been urged to cancel plans to be the guest of honour at an event hosted by the chief lobbyist of the gambling industry while the Treasury is in the midst of a review of taxes on the 12bn sector.Reeves is slated to appear at a private reception" for business leaders, organised by the corporate communications company Brunswick, at the forthcoming Labour party conference in Liverpool. Continue reading...

MP says she faced baseless attacks' over paid membership portal, which Corbyn told supporters not to useZarah Sultana has consulted defamation lawyers after her public spat with Jeremy Corbyn over the launch of a paid membership system for the party they were to co-lead.Sultana said she has been on the receiving end of politically motivated" attacks amid the row that has engulfed the launch of Your party. Corbyn had previously urged people not to use the supposed membership portal", and said legal advice was being taken over its launch. Continue reading...

Case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry was suddenly dropped, leaving questions for CPSShortly before 10am on Monday, the Conservative MP Alicia Kearns received an unwelcome phone call. I don't know how to tell you this," said the specialist police officer on the line. Ten minutes later the Old Bailey heard what Kearns now knew. A long-awaited trial of two men - a former parliamentary aide to Kearns, Christopher Cash, and an associate, Christopher Berry - accused of spying for China was to be abandoned. The cops were equally disappointed," Kearns told the Guardian.The trial had been expected to be an extraordinary test of London's already fraught relationship with Beijing. Scheduled to begin at Woolwich crown court on 6 October, it had been expected to hear allegations that politically sensitive" information was passing from Westminster to a member of China's ruling politburo. Continue reading...

Three people arrested from car on M6 after shootings that left one man in critical conditionFour people have been shot at a Birmingham nightclub, leaving one person in a critical condition.West Midlands police said one man remained in hospital, while the other three - two men and a woman - were being treated for less serious injuries after the incident at Mango nightclub in Bristol Street at about 3am on Saturday. Continue reading...

Plans to improve the world heritage site for tourists put its living culture at risk, say locals and campaignersBy noon, the sun is high over Petra, bleaching the coloured sandstone cliffs and temporarily emptying its celebrated ruins of tourists. Vines and a canopy keep the terrace of Mohammed Feras s cave home cool despite the searing summer heat rising from the rocky valley.I have lived here all my life. I've never been anywhere else and I cannot imagine not living here. This area is part of who I am and I cannot leave it," the 44-year-old farmer and sometime tourist guide said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Regent Sounds recording studio in London to be turned into landmark site for rock'n'roll, jazz and bluesThe Regent Sounds recording studio on Tin Pan Alley" in London was famously used by Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones between the 1960s and early 1980s. Now, having been walled up and lain silent for decades, it is being brought back to life through a multimillion-pound investment that will turn it into a landmark site for rock'n'roll, jazz and blues, the Guardian has learned.Much of the original walls, floor tiles and recording equipment have been preserved from a studio that Pete Townshend, The Who's guitarist and songwriter, once described as a massive chunk of rock music history". Continue reading...

Financial experts express alarm after jump in sums people taking out of retirement pots amid jitters' about taxOlder savers should avoid making rash decisions about their pension cash based on fear and rumour", experts urged this week.The warning came as figures showed a rise in the sums people were pulling out of their retirement pots. Continue reading...

Former PM, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and conference chair Warren Mundine among right faction heavyweights urging conservative voters to unite

Emergency calls were offline for nearly fourteen hours, during which three people died - including an eight-week-old baby

Integrated care boards in England cannot afford severance payments, leaving restructuring plan in chaos, union saysLabour's radical reorganisation of the NHS has descended into chaos, a union has said, as a huge programme of job cuts has been halted amid a row over who will foot the 1bn bill.The NHS's 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) in England were due to make up to 12,500 of their 25,000 staff redundant by the end of the year as a result of health service cost-cutting. Continue reading...

From reduced hunger to a changing palate, weight loss jabs can alter our experience and enjoyment of foodThe revelation that the chef Heston Blumenthal has created a tasting menu for people on weight loss jabs may have raised eyebrows, but there is scientific evidence that drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro not only make you less hungry, but change what you want to eat.So what do we know about how weight loss medications affect your relationship with food? Continue reading...

Israeli military says aid infrastructure could be targeted after order to all Gaza residents and inhabitants' to leaveHumanitarian workers in northern Gaza have been repeatedly warned by the Israeli military that only hospitals will be considered protected sites and all other aid infrastructure could be targeted.In messages and conversations with aid workers in recent days seen by the Guardian, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an order to all Gaza residents and inhabitants" to evacuate Gaza City, the biggest urban centre in the territory, applied to all humanitarian locations [there], except hospitals" and warned that to defeat Hamas [Israeli troops] will operate ... with great force". Continue reading...

Held since 2020, India's most prominent political prisoner has become a symbol of repression under the Modi regimeThere is indeed something about captivity that makes one feel like a state of somewhere between life and death," wrote Umar Khalid in June in a letter penned as his fifth year languishing behind bars approached.Few understand the purgatory of jail like Khalid. For five years - since his arrest in September 2020 under a draconian terrorism law - he has remained India's most prominent political prisoner, to many a potent symbol of the systematic crushing of dissent under the dominant Hindu nationalist regime of the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Continue reading...

Peter Malinauskas criticised the telco for its communications after two people in South Australia and one in Western Australia died during the network upgrade

Rising wages and costs of having to dig deeper for minerals - not royalty payments - are behind job cuts in a sector that appears to be in decline

At least two protesters arrested as Democratic congressional candidate condemns violent abuse of power'

Russia denies what EU calls dangerous provocation' after Italian air force heads off three MiG-31s over Gulf of FinlandNato has intercepted three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets that violated Estonia's airspace over the Baltic Sea in a 12-minute incursion, calling it proof of Moscow's reckless" behaviour.The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, accused Moscow of an extremely dangerous provocation" and said the latest Russian violation of Nato's eastern borders further escalates tensions in the region". Continue reading...

Trump's statement suggests preliminary agreement between leaders in the first direct contact between them since JuneDonald Trump said on Friday that he and Xi Jinping had agreed to approve a deal over TikTok.He approved the TikTok deal," Trump said about Xi to reporters in the Oval Office, suggesting the leaders signed off on a preliminary agreement. But Trump offered no details about the agreement or when it would be signed. Continue reading...

Figure amounts to a $60bn fall by 2030 any any future scenario of emissions reduction in Australia, modelling predicts

Stuart Latham admitted 49 offences in one of UK's biggest online child sexual abuse casesAn abhorrent" Snapchat predator has been jailed for 14 years for raping a 12-year-old girl and exploiting dozens of others in one of the UK's biggest online child sexual abuse investigations.Stuart Latham, 22, is believed to have solicited explicit images from hundreds of girls, most aged between 11 and 13, on social media over the space of a year. Continue reading...

Body found in field hours after search near Wisborough Green as police rule out foul playA man has died after falling from a hot air balloon in West Sussex.Emergency services carried out an extensive search for the man involving police drones and dogs after receiving reports of the incident near Newpound Common, in Wisborough Green, shortly after 9am on Friday. Continue reading...

Singer cancels shows in Connecticut and Massachusetts out of abundance of caution', days after threat also issued in OttawaMorrissey has cancelled two shows in the US over a credible threat on his life", according to his official Facebook page.The former Smiths singer, 66, was due to appear at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, on Friday night, and at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday. Continue reading...

Celeste Rivas, 15, identified by Los Angeles officials after body discovered inside vehicle in Hollywood tow lotA decomposed body found inside an impounded Tesla that reportedly belonged to the singer d4vd has been identified as that of a teenage girl who went missing more than a year ago.The Los Angeles county medical examiner's office confirmed that the body found inside the vehicle at a tow lot in Hollywood on 8 September was that of Celeste Rivas, 15. Continue reading...

Trump had refused to grant visas for Palestinian delegation due to attend conference and UN general assemblyThe United Nations general assembly has voted to allow the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to address next week's annual gathering of world leaders next week in New York via video link after Donald Trump said he would not give him a US visa.The resolution received 145 votes in favour and five votes against, while six countries abstained. Continue reading...

Several Democrats who opposed the measure said they condemned Kirk's murder, but could not support his speechThe killing of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week has triggered a wave of political disquiet in Washington, with some House Democrats fearing a messaging trap over a Republican resolution to honor him while other lawmakers worry about the broader political temperature following government pressure on broadcasters.Democrats ultimately decided to side with the Republicans to pass the resolution, with 95 Democrats in support. Fifty-eight Democrats opposed it, 38 voted present and 22 did not vote. Continue reading...

IDF tells residents of Gaza City to flee south but closes Salah al-Din road evacuation routePakistan's defence minister says his nation's nuclear programme will be made available" to Saudi Arabia if needed under the countries' new defence pact, marking the first specific acknowledgment that Islamabad had put the kingdom under its nuclear umbrella.Defence minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif's comments underline the importance of the pact struck this week between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have had military ties for decades, AP reports.I welcome the excellent cooperation with the Palestinian Authority. We are working together to ensure his swift extradition.This is another step forward for justice and truth. My thoughts are with all the families who have endured the pain of waiting for so long. Continue reading...

Committee to conclude review of bill by 7 November. This live blog is closedThe UK is preparing to recognise the state of Palestine imminently, after Israel failed to meet conditions that would have postponed the historic step, including a ceasefire in Gaza, Patrick Wintour reports.YouGov has relased polling today suggesting that Britons are in favour of this by more than two to one, although a large minority of people do not have a view. Continue reading...

Court fines publisher after Milo Rau falsely claimed that far-right former chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache sang a song ridiculing the six million Jews murdered by the NazisA Swiss theatre director known for re-enacting landmark trials has been told by a judge in Vienna that his publisher must withdraw a book in which he alleged that a far-right Austrian politician sang a song mocking the victims of the Holocaust.On Thursday, Vienna's regional court fined independent German publishing house Verbrecher Verlag 1,500 (1,300) for publishing a book in which Milo Rau alleged that Heinz-Christian Strache, the former leader of the Freedom party (FPO), once sang a song with the line: We'll manage the seventh million", a reference to the approximately 6 million European Jews murdered at the hands of the Nazi regime. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Party investigates Northumberland councillor John Allen over alleged YouTube postsReform UK has suspended one of its councillors while the party investigates him over alleged online comments about wanting to kill Keir Starmer.The suspension came after the party was presented with details indicating that John Allen, a Reform UK Northumberland county councillor, had posted comments online about wanting to shoot the prime minister. Continue reading...

Harris' memoir, 107 Days, includes her thoughts about the Pennsylvania governor and former transport secretary as potential running matesJosh Shapiro has said Kamala Harris will have to answer" for why she did not publicly alert people to Joe Biden's declining ability to serve during his term in the White House.The Democratic Pennsylvania governor was a candidate to become Harris's running mate when she replaced Biden as the Democratic party nominee for president late in the 2024 campaign after the president dropped his re-election bid, but narrowly lost out to Minnesota governor Tim Walz - whom Harris dishes on in her new book. Continue reading...