World news | The Guardian

French authorities say 65 people rescued after overloaded boat sinks off coast of WissantA baby died after a boat carrying people in the Channel towards Britain capsized off the French coast, local coastguards have said.Sixty-five people were rescued after the overloaded boat started to sink off the coast of Wissant, in northern France, on Thursday night. Some people were in the water when rescuers arrived. An unconscious baby found in the water was later declared dead. Continue reading...

Researchers shocked at discovery that gender difference in physical activity appears to begin so early in lifeGirls play outside in nature less than boys even at the age of two, according to the first national survey of play among preschool-age children in Britain.While researchers expect to see older children socialised to particular gender roles, they were shocked to see similar patterns of behaviour starting to emerge at such a young age. Continue reading...

NRL, AFL and betting companies intensified efforts to try to influence PM in lead-up to finals

Work and pensions minister says government will not go ahead with Tory plans but needs to make savingsLabour will bring its own reforms" to the benefits system in order to make 3bn worth of cuts, rather than stick to Conservative plans, a minister has suggested.The work and pensions minister Alison McGovern was asked by Times Radio why Labour was pressing ahead with plans made by the previous Tory government to amend work capability rules. Continue reading...

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Teachers offered training on running classroom sessions for children to learn about inequality and sexismCombating the pernicious influence" of misogynists such as Andrew Tate in primary schools is as important as teaching children English and maths, the mayor of London has told teachers.Sadiq Khan has written to every primary school in London urging them to counter the online misogyny of influencers such as Tate through new classes and workshops that are being set up across the capital as part of plans to tackle violence against women and girls. Continue reading...

Payne grew up in Bushbury, a suburban area north of the city, where he lived with his parents and two elder sistersHe became one of the biggest faces of pop music, but for the people of his home town Liam Payne will always be the boy from Wolverhampton who made it big.Before he skyrocketed to fame as a fifth of the boyband One Direction, Payne was an ordinary teenager, studying music technology at the local college and competing in cross-country running competitions across the West Midlands. Continue reading...

Terms used to categorise branch operators in Horizon IT scandal by race said to be common in 1980s public sectorLanguage in an infamous Post Office document that categorised branch operators as negroid types" was common in the public sector from the 1980s but continued to be used in the scandal-hit organisation until 2016, an inquiry has heard.The document, which revealed that lawyers investigating post office operators in the Horizon computer scandal used a racist term to categorise black workers, first became public in May last year when it was released to campaigners seeking justice for those wrongfully prosecuted. Continue reading...

More than 23,000 files were left open by the last government, says minister, with delays of up to four years in assigning victim statusThe Home Office has recruited 200 staff to clear a backlog of 23,300 modern slavery cases left by the last government, a minister has told the Guardian.Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, said the department planned to end prolonged uncertainty and anguish for survivors by finalising the cases within two years. Continue reading...

Exclusive: news comes as figures show a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds in England have tried vapingRachel Reeves is considering raising the tax on vaping products in her budget this month as figures show that a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds in England have used e-cigarettes.The chancellor is looking at increasing the tax after a consultation carried out by the last Conservative government. Continue reading...

Ukrainians face new airborne threat that has killed 24 civilians and injured hundreds more since JulySasha Ustenko has survived three attacks by the Russian drones that stalk the streets of Kherson carrying fragmentation grenades to drop on anything that moves. The first, in late July, targeted a parked police car in central Kherson just as Ustenko walked past, throwing him to the ground. The second, in mid-August, hit a drinking water tanker as he queued for supplies, killing the driver. Ustenko was concussed, and came round to see a man lying in a pool of blood.The third time, in late September, he heard the drone buzzing above and sprinted for shelter under the branches of a cherry tree. He hoped its leaves would hide him but the grenade tumbled through the canopy and landed barely a metre away. Continue reading...

Report also cast doubt on whether any rigorous cost-benefit analysis was done before the 2021 announcement

Police accuse man, 26, of fraud and drug offences after searching property north of Brisbane

Israeli military presents drone footage from Gaza it says shows Sinwar sitting in a chair alone in a room wrecked by shelling with a severely wounded arm

This blog has now closed. You can follow continuing liveblog coverage here, read all our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war here and all our coverage of Israel's war on Lebanon hereThe US military has mobilised its long-range B-2 stealth bombers to conduct strikes against five hardened underground weapons storage locations" in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The Pentagon said the facilities house various weapons components the Houthis have used to target civilian and military vessels, roiling commercial shipping in the Red Sea. This was a unique demonstration of the United States' ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified," defence secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement.The US Central Command said its battle damage assessments from the strikes were under way and did not indicate civilian casualties. The early morning strikes marked the first the US has used the B-2 bomber to attack Houthis in Yemen, and according to Bloomberg, the first time since January 2017 the wing-shaped bomber has flown in a combat mission.The mayor of one of the largest cities in Lebanon's south has been killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit the city's municipal headquarters during a meeting to coordinate aid deliveries to residents and those displaced by war. The strike, one of a series on Nabatieh on Wednesday morning, killed 16 people and wounded 52, the Lebanese health ministry said. Lebanon's caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati accused Israel of intentionally targeting" the meeting.UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon said an Israeli army tank fired at a Unifil watchtower in Kafer Kela, a village in south Lebanon, in what it described as a direct and apparently deliberate" act. The incident is the latest in a string of violations that Unifil has blamed on the IDF, prompting international condemnation. The IDF denied it was targeting Unifil forces.Syrian news agency SANA reported an Israeli airstrike hitting the coastal city of Latakia. The state media outlet reported fires were triggered by the Israeli aggression" at the entrance to Latakia, a stronghold of president Bashar al-Assad. It also reported two injuries and damage to private properties.US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has spoken with Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, the Pentagon says, after Austin and secretary of state Antony Blinken jointly penned a letter earlier this week calling on Israel to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation.The US has demanded proof on the ground that Israel does not have a policy of starvation in northern Gaza as it turned up the pressure on the Netanyahu government to allow more aid into the territory. The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the security council on Wednesday at a meeting convened by France, UK and Algeria that such a policy would not just be horrific and unacceptable" but also had implications under international and US law".The risk of cholera spreading in Lebanon is very high", the World Health Organization has warned, after a case of the acute and potentially deadly infection was detected in the conflict-hit country. The WHO highlighted the risk of cholera spreading among hundreds of thousands of people displaced since Israel escalated its campaign against Hezbollah.More than 500 Filipino migrant workers are expected to soon be repatriated from Lebanon, according to the Philippine government, amid warnings that workers who want to leave are facing resistance from their employers.More than 500 Filipino migrant workers are expected to soon be repatriated from Lebanon, according to the Philippine government, amid warnings that workers who want to leave are facing resistance from their employers.

Comments from the Stretton LNP candidate Freya Ostapovitch, who also links terminations with breast cancer, are at odds with her party's position

Other leaders hail the death of the Hamas leader, saying there is opportunity for ceasefire and humanitarian aid

Man charged with dangerous driving after girl allegedly struck by a vehicle in Endeavour Hills

The new mood to tighten laws is driven in large part by the success of far-right parties, in power in seven countries

Idea of return hubs' gains traction after mainstream EU politicians were unnerved by rise of far right

Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick took questions from Conservative party members on Thursday night

Some people have asked to be killed due to non-medical reasons - including isolation and homelessnessAn expert committee reviewing euthanasia deaths in Canada's most populous province has identified several cases in which patients asked to be killed in part for social reasons such as isolation and fears of homelessness, raising concerns over approvals for vulnerable people in the country's assisted dying system.Ontario's chief coroner issued several reports on Wednesday - after an Associated Press investigation based in part on data provided in one of the documents - reviewing the euthanasia deaths of people who were not terminally ill. The expert committee's reports are based on an analysis of anonymized cases, chosen for their implications for future euthanasia requests. Continue reading...

The mastermind of the 7 October attack that triggered the current war in Gaza has been killed in a neighbourhood of Rafah

NHS Providers chief says 'vital bits of the NHS are literally falling apart after years of underinvestment'The cost of repairing crumbling NHS buildings in England has soared to almost 14bn, prompting warnings that patients and staff are at risk from falling roofs and faulty equipment.The repair bill faced by the health service to make its estate fit for purpose has more than trebled from 4.5bn in 2012-13 to 13.8bn last year, according to NHS England data. Continue reading...

Death toll of at least 28 reportedly includes doctors and children at site IDF said was used by Islamic Jihad members

Exclusive: Housing secretary wants billions more to meet new-homes target but chancellor is set to limit spendingAngela Rayner and Rachel Reeves are at loggerheads over a major programme of social housebuilding, in the latest sign of cabinet tensions over this month's budget.Rayner, the housing secretary, has been pushing Reeves, the chancellor, for billions of pounds more for affordable housing, which she argues will be needed to hit Labour's target of building 1.5m new homes across five years. Continue reading...

Netanyahu says death of mastermind of 7 October attack that triggered war in Gaza marks beginning of the end'

Lucy Connolly called for mass deportations and arson attacks in expletive-ridden social media postA childminder married to a Conservative councillor has been jailed after calling for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set on fire after the Southport attacks.Lucy Connolly, 41, received a 31-month prison sentence after calling for mass deportation now" in a social media post to her 10,000 followers on X on the day three children were killed in a knife attack in Southport. Continue reading...

Christopher Chope's comments draw widespread condemnation, with Stella Creasy saying dinosaurs walk amongst us'A veteran Conservative MP has sparked outrage after saying he would not support Kemi Badenoch to be the Tory party leader because she is preoccupied with her own children".Sir Christopher Chope told ITV News that the frontrunner in his party's leadership race would be unable to commit to the role of leader of the opposition as she has young children. Continue reading...

Latest round brings total student loan cancellation to over $175bn for nearly 5 million people as court battles continueThe Biden-Harris administration announced today an additional $4.5bn in student debt relief for over 60,000 public service workers.The latest round of relief has brought total student loan cancellation to over $175bn for nearly 5 million people since Biden took office in 2021, roughly 11% of all outstanding federal student loan debt, including 1 million public service workers holding $74bn in federal student debt. Continue reading...

Ukrainian membership would be part of five-point victory plan' to end war, president tells Brussels summitVolodymyr Zelenskyy has urged European leaders to issue an immediate invitation" to Ukraine to join Nato as he pitched his victory plan", which he said would end the war in 2025 at the latest.Addressing the EU's 27 leaders at a Brussels summit, Ukraine's president outlined his five-point plan, which urges allies to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons on military targets inside Ukraine's occupied territories and Russia, as well as to help increase air defences. Continue reading...

Ambulance and fire services warned of similarity to Skripal poisonings, inquiry into 2018 deaths hearsPolice officers urged paramedics and firefighters to treat the second novichok incident in 2018 as a drug overdose despite warnings from the ambulance and fire services that it had similarities to the first poisoning four months earlier in Salisbury, a public inquiry has heard.The UK government believes the novichok was brought into Britain by agents tasked by Vladimir Putin to target the former spy Sergei Skripal, who had been settled in Salisbury after a spy exchange, the inquiry heard earlier this week. Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned on 4 March 2018 and both survived. Continue reading...

Warning comes after three cabinet members complain to Starmer about chancellor's proposed budget cuts

Critics say plan mooted by coalition government led by Geert Wilders' far-right Freedom party is totally unfeasible'The Dutch coalition government, headed by Geert Wilders' far-right Freedom party (PVV), is considering sending Africans whose asylum requests are rejected to Uganda, in plans that opposition politicians have said are totally unfeasible".During a visit this week to the East African country, the Dutch minister for trade and development, Reinette Klever, said the cabinet was exploring the ideaand that Uganda was not averse" to it, the Dutch public broadcaster Nos reported on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Other plays to feature include a production of Sarah Kane's final work and a saga involving a British Museum artefactA new Robert Icke drama about the hunt for Raoul Moat, a revival of Sarah Kane's final play, and a saga about a Chinese request for the return of a stolen artefact from the British Museum are among the standout pieces that have been announced as part of the latest Royal Court season.The theatre's artistic director, David Byrne, said the season was internationalist" with South African (A Good House) and Palestinian writers (A Knock on the Roof) alongside more established British talent, such as Icke. Continue reading...

Equality bill will allow transgender people to have their sex changed on their birth certificates without surgery

Joshua Alliance to take company private, paying 40p in cash for each share not already owned by himself and family

System for applying for travelcards yet to be restored after cyber-attack on Transport for London's IT systemsStudents in London fear they may have to abandon their school and university courses to save money after a cyber hack on Transport for London's (TfL) IT systems left them unable to apply for discounted travelcards.TfL suspended applications for discounted travel passes when its systems were hacked in early September, compromising the details of about 5,000 Oyster card holders. It is unable to say when the system will be restored. Continue reading...

Randwick council started closing its beaches, including Coogee, on Tuesday and neighbouring Waverley council followed suit on Thursday out of precaution'

Severe thunderstorms caused by strong cold front and low pressure system to hit most of the country, with South Australia the focal point', BoM says

The 28-year-old allegedly attempted to force her to send him footage of herself performing various compromising acts', court hears

Unemployment rate in September was 4.1% - making it unlikely the Reserve Bank will cut interest rates this year

Nova university programme criticised for only having white instructors and for some of its content, such as session on does racism really exist?'A top university in Lisbon has suspended plans to launch a postgraduate programme on racism and xenophobia after the course was criticised for hiring only white instructors.The programme, offered by the faculty of law at Nova University in tandem with the government-backed Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia, was also condemned for some of its content, such as a session entitled: Does racism really exist?" Continue reading...

After expulsion of hundreds of embassy-based spies, Kremlin has had to use riskier and less conventional methodsA developing Russian campaign of arson, sabotage and even murder plots has left western intelligence agencies alarmed over the past year.The ramping up of activity has come as the Kremlin's spy apparatus recovered from the initial shock of seeing 450 agents posing as diplomats expelled from Europe in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Executive Tracy Marshall tells inquiry such practice has since stopped saying it absolutely shouldn't have happened'Post Office executives changed data on the Horizon IT systems used by post office operators without their knowledge as recently as last year, the public inquiry into the scandal has heard.The inquiry was shown a letter from Calum Greenhow, the chief executive of the National Federation of Subpostmasters (NFSP) and a post office operator for 22 years, to the Post Office raising the issue in May last year. Continue reading...

Stadtallendorf structure was not legally required to have alarms because it was classified as a building holding equipment, not a fire stationA state-of-the-art fire station in western Germany that was completed last year at a cost of tens of millions of euros has burned to the ground because it had not been fitted with a fire alarm.The town of Stadtallendorf had proudly unveiled the new structure less than a year ago, but early on Wednesday emergency services were alerted to a fire that had started in a vehicle before quickly spreading to the whole building. Continue reading...

Singer-songwriter with the Hollies and CSNY attended youth club as a boy, where he gave his first ever singing performanceGraham Nash, the singer-songwriter from Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young who grew up in Salford, has donated 10,000 to the city's embattled Salford Lads Club.The youth centre, most famous from being immortalised on the sleeve for the Smiths album The Queen Is Dead, is attempting to crowdfund 250,000 after a drop in grant funding threatened its future. Continue reading...

Move comes after Foreign Office rejected calls for RAF to arrange flight following Salmond's death in North Macedonia

Dawn Sturgess, who died after thinking nerve agent was perfume, was convulsing and foaming at the mouth'A woman killed in the Salisbury novichok poisonings began foaming at the mouth and convulsing 10 or 15 minutes after unwittingly spraying the nerve agent on her wrists, an inquiry has heard.Dawn Sturgess, 44, got into a bath with all her clothes on after becoming contaminated with novichok, which had been secreted in a fake perfume bottle that her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, had given her, the inquiry into her death was told. Continue reading...

Israel says it has killed more than 50 Hamas fighters and denies it aims to remove people permanently from areaTens of thousands of civilians are still trapped in Jabalia in northern Gaza by a major Israeli offensive against Hamas militants, who have returned to the neighbourhood in recent months.The Israeli military says it has killed more than 50 fighters over the past days in airstrikes and close-quarters combat as troops try to destroy Hamas forces. Continue reading...