World news | The Guardian

Health of nonagenarian Paul Biya declared a matter of national security and strictly prohibited'Cameroonian authorities have banned discussions about the health of President Paul Biya after the latest round of speculation about the nonagenarian's prolonged absence from public.In a 9 October letter to regional governors, interior minister Paul Atanga Nji said discussing the president's health was a matter of national security and any debate in the media about the president's condition is therefore strictly prohibited". Continue reading...

Nick Read tells Horizon IT inquiry he did not threaten to resign over remuneration

Deputy opposition leader expresses concern for Jo Tarnawsky's welfare after chief of staff claims she was effectively sacked

Following a BBC documentary women who worked at Harrods have told Met of sexual abuse and rapeThe Metropolitan police said on Friday that they had recorded 40 new allegations relating to the late businessman Mohamed Al Fayed and others, after multiple women accused the late businessman of sexual abuse and rape in a BBC documentary.In September British police called for anyone with allegations against Fayed, the former owner of Harrods, who died last year, to come forward, and said it would aim to prosecute others after the accusations.

Conservative leadership candidate says he would not do it again in apparent pitch to centre of partyThe Conservative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick has suggested he regrets ordering cartoon characters to be removed from the walls of a children's asylum-seeker centre.Asked about the incident on LBC radio, Jenrick initially defended the action, saying he was very worried at the time and continue to be" about adults coming to the country illegally and posing as children. Continue reading...

The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Japanese atomic bomb survivor movement Nihon HidankyoThe 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the grassroots Japanese atomic bomb survivor movement Nihon HidankyoWe're about five minutes away from the announcement... Continue reading...

Two parties agree to end a review of notice to take down videos of the attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel

Nomad Group director issues statement, saying he offers an olive branch of peace and love' to wider Jewish community

Move is part of THG raising 95.4m to fund demerger of lossmaking technology arm IngenuityMike Ashley's Frasers Group has become an investor in online retailer THG as part of a near-100m fundraising to spin off the lossmaking technology arm Ingenuity.Frasers, which owns Sports Direct, Evans Cycles, the House of Fraser department stores, the luxury streetwear chain Flannels and multiple brands from Slazenger to Jack Wills, has made a strategic investment of 10m in THG. Continue reading...

Lawyers predict more claims after perfect win' for two Syrian asylum seekers pushed back to LebanonA ruling by the European court of human rights ordering authorities in Cyprus to pay damages to two Syrian refugees found to have been prevented from applying for asylum has been welcomed as a perfect" victory by campaigners.Lawyers said Tuesday's judgment would encourage others to follow suit, including an ever-growing group of asylum seekers stranded in the UN-patrolled buffer zone of the war-split country. Continue reading...

As it happened

Revitalise says challenges insurmountable' due to local authority cuts, higher running costs and fall in donationsBritain's only specialist respite holiday provider for severely disabled people and their carers is to close because of financial difficulties, in what has been called a bellwether example of the UK's growing social care crisis.Revitalise, a charity that runs unique state-of-the-art respite stays, offering 24-hour care at two specially adapted hotels, said local authority cuts, combined with increased running costs and a fall in donations, meant it was no longer viable. Continue reading...

The Holy Family Medical Centre in Dulwich Hill is contacting people regarding vaccinations over a four-and-a-half-year period - including children

Survivor of blaze which killed 72 disgusted' Quentin Marshall gave 5,000 to candidate promoting deregulationOne of Kemi Badenoch's Tory leadership campaign funders is a councillor who had oversight of Grenfell Tower and dismissed some residents' complaints about the pre-fire refurbishment as grossly exaggerated".One survivor of the blaze that killed 72 people said he was disgusted" that Quentin Marshall, a senior politician at the Conservative-controlled Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) which owned the block, has given 5,000 to the current shadow housing secretary to help her become the leader of the opposition. Continue reading...

Network trying to avoid embarrassment with unprecedented' application in legal battle with ex-Spotlight journalist Amelia Saw, court hears

Announcement is second major move this week by a presenter at the broadcaster, with Patricia Karvelas to leave Radio National Breakfast

Hundreds of poor and desperate children targeted in anticipation of long and bloody battle, says Human Rights WatchHaitian armed gangs are recruiting starving children to swell their ranks ahead of an anticipated long and bloody battle with international security forces, a report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) has found.Armed groups - which control most of Haiti - are enticing hundreds, if not thousands, of impoverished children to take up arms with offers of food and shelter, the rights groups said. Continue reading...

A look at the origins and appeal off the song MEPs used to serenade the Hungarian PM in StrasbourgThis is not Eurovision," said the speaker of the European parliament, Roberta Metsola, as she tried to silence leftwing MEPs greeting the visiting Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, with a rowdy rendition of the classic anti-fascist anthem Bella Ciao.The bang-your-fists-on-the-table motif at the heart of this earworm of a ditty - whose title means Goodbye, beautiful" - may indeed sound like something cooed through dry fog by a spandex-clad blond at the European song contest. But the story it tells reaches far deeper into the continent's history than the annual kitsch music extravaganza, telling an age-old tale of the left's determined struggle against political oppression. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read our latest report from the region here and all our Middle East coverage here.Diplomatic communications have intensified in the past hours, before a UN security council meeting discussing the situation in the Middle East, Lebanon's prime minister Najib Mikati said in a statement on X on Thursday, reports Reuters.There are contacts taking place between the United States and France with the aim of reviving a ceasefire declaration for a specific period in order to resume the search for political solutions," he was quoted as saying. Continue reading...

Police euthanise the animal after being called to an incident at a property in Townsville

Assessment finds detention unit is subjecting families to unnecessary suffering' amid lengthy Home Office delaysYoung children are being traumatised while held at a Gatwick airport deportation centre that should be closed down, a watchdog has found.The independent monitoring board (IMB) also said the children's parents were being subjected to callous treatment and unnecessary suffering" because of the Home Office's lengthy decision-making process over removals.Children are witnessing or overhearing their parents' considerable distress" at their expected deportation, despite staff efforts to shield them.Children are being asked by staff to translate for their distraught parents, despite having been taken from their homes and facing removal to a country they may know very little about.The use of the Family PDA may prolong or add to trauma already experienced, particularly for children. Continue reading...

Conservation trust says Boki not out of the woods' yet but doing well after operation to drain buildup of fluidA brown bear that underwent brain surgery in the first operation of its kind in the UK is doing well but is not out of the woods" yet, a charity has said.Boki went under the knife on Wednesday after an MRI scan revealed he had hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid in the brain. Continue reading...

BMJ case report reveals potential overuse injury after man in his 30s has surgery to remove large lump on his headGoing breakdancing today? If so, maybe go easy on the headspins. Unless you want to end up with a cone-head", that is.Breakdancing's extreme physical demands mean it is known to involve a high risk of injury: everything from hair loss to sprains and damage to almost every part of the anatomy. Continue reading...

Police discovered much-loved' Martin Forgie dead at property in Ellon on WednesdayA 44-year-old man has been arrested after the death of a much loved" 36-year-old man in Aberdeenshire.At about 8.35pm on Wednesday, police were called to a property on Gordon Place, Ellon, where Martin Forgie was found dead. Continue reading...

Industry bosses to meet prime minister before government's international investment summit next weekThe leaders of the world's biggest green energy companies have promised more than 24bn of new private investment across Great Britain ahead of a meeting with the prime minister on Friday.Keir Starmer is expected to meet the green energy bosses on the sidelines of the first Council of Nations and Regions in Edinburgh to discuss the multibillion-pound projects just days before the government's international investment summit next week. Continue reading...

PM will convene Friday's summit of devolved nations and English mayors without Gray by his side, No 10 saysKeir Starmer's inaugural gathering of the council of nations and regions, intended to reset relationships and boost growth in every part of the UK, risks being overshadowed by the absence of his new envoy Sue Gray.The summit follows a Labour manifesto promise to restructure government by bringing the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland together with regional mayors in England. Starmer will convene it without Gray by his side. Continue reading...

After complaints over pay and life in government, Labour's special advisers seem placated by Morgan McSweeney's more conciliatory toneClashes between powerful figures inside Downing Street and special advisers are nothing new. Dominic Cummings - Boris Johnson's right-hand man inside No 10 - had several high-profile bust-ups with spads, as they're known, which even led to the departure of a cabinet minister.Theresa May's pugilistic chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill became known for their confrontational style. Hill, in particular, made herself unpopular with ministers, Tory MPs and advisers alike with her blunt text messages. Continue reading...

Alaa Abd el-Fattah, who is still in jail in Egypt despite completing his five-year sentence, was selected by PEN Pinter winner Arundhati RoyBritish-Egyptian writer, software developer and activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah has been named this year's PEN writer of courage. The 42-year-old is still in prison in Egypt, despite having completed his five-year sentence for allegedly spreading false news".Let's remember that this is an innocent man who has committed no crime, but even so, he will have served his time on 29 September," Abd el-Fattah's sister, Sanaa Seif, said last month. Continue reading...

Director of only major hospital in north of strip still offering specialist care says it cannot evacuate all its patients

Downing Street indicates no change in position on Ukraine's request to fire Storm Shadow weapons into Russia

Kent and Essex police unit says files are being submitted to CPS in relation to hundreds of deaths up until 2000Police have identified 24 suspects in their investigation into the deaths of hundreds of patients at Gosport War Memorial hospital, one of the biggest care scandals in NHS history.Detectives said 21 people were suspected of committing gross negligence manslaughter and the other three of breaking the Health and Safety at Work Act. Continue reading...

Bill will give new rights to millions of workers including protection from third-party harassment

Exclusive: Private message from whips aims to crack down on dissent, telling MPs to speak with one voice'

Far-right trolls spout baseless theory that storm is a simulation' as Republicans jump on conspiracy train

Russian president's spokesperson confirms tests were sent by Trump at a time there were shortages in the USThe Kremlin has confirmed that Donald Trump sent Vladimir Putin Covid tests when they were scarce during the early stages of the pandemic, as reported this week in a book by veteran US political journalist Bob Woodward.The Russian president's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov largely confirmed the account of Woodward, whose book reveals how Trump secretly sent tests to the Russian president for his personal use, despite US shortages. Continue reading...

Tory Reform Group declines to endorse either leadership candidate amid fears lurch to the right could split party

Vice-president raised same amount in 80 days as Biden's entire 2020 campaign but Democrats worry about polls

Corrective services will electronically monitor whereabouts of people released from custody while charged with serious offences

Police association boss says vast majority of officers at weekend rally were doing user-pay or cancelled rest day' shifts

Australia's interest rate is forecast to fall from 4.35% to 3.6% by this time next year, prompting seven lenders to cut their rates this week

Young people would be offered series of reliefs starting with 100% exemption in first year of workPortugal is proposing a novel way of stemming the country's brain drain: a decade of progressive tax breaks for young people including paying nothing at all in their first year of work.The centre-right minority government of Luis Montenegro is ditching a proposed 15% cap on income tax for 18- to 35-year-olds and replacing it with a progressive scheme similar to one supported by the opposition Socialists. Continue reading...

French energy firm has reportedly approached investors to help cover ballooning cost of constructing nuclear plantFrench energy company EDF is reportedly in talks with investors to raise up to 4bn to finish the delayed Hinkley Point C project in Somerset, Britain's first new nuclear reactor in a generation.The utilities company, owned by the French state, has approached investors to help cover the ballooning cost of constructing the nuclear plant, which is understood to have reached almost 50bn due in part to supply chain issues and struggles securing skilled engineers, according to Bloomberg. Continue reading...

Steel tycoon faces enforcement action from UK business regulator, which could lead to fine or disqualificationThe steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta is being prosecuted by Companies House for failing to file accounts for more than 70 companies listed in Britain.Gupta, who was once described as the saviour of steel" when he began rescuing failing British steelworks in 2017, is facing enforcement action from the UK's business register for the late filing, which could result in a fine or being disqualified as a director. Continue reading...

Proposal to commemorate TV series on historic tenement raises concerns about increase in selfie-tourism in cityHeritage campaigners have protested about a proposal from Netflix to erect a plaque commemorating its hit show One Day on a historic tenement in Edinburgh.Netflix has applied to Edinburgh city council for permission to fit the red plaque at the foot of steps on Vennel, a path beside the city's medieval wall which offers an Instagrammable view of the Grassmarket and the castle. Continue reading...

Pennsylvania candidate David McCormick led Bridgewater, which managed millions in Russian funds, documents showDavid McCormick, the Republican candidate for US Senate in Pennsylvania, led the largest hedge fund in the world while it managed and advised funds holding hundreds of millions of dollars in Russian debt, documents obtained by the Guardian show.Filings with the US Department of Labor, known as form 5500s, show that from 2017 to 2021, Bridgewater Associates managed funds holding as much as $415m in Russian sovereign bonds. Since 2019 these types of investment have been subject to increasingly stringent US sanctions, in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Steve Sailer to appear alongside a proponent of scientific racism' and a law professor suspended for racist' remarksA rightwing activist who last month trained poll workers for the Republican National Committee will speak in Washington DC on Thursday night alongside an extremist writer who is a proponent of scientific racism" and a law professor who was suspended after allegedly making racist, sexist and homophobic" remarks and inviting a white nationalist to address her class.Jack Posobiec, Steve Sailer and Amy Wax will appear together at the event, which will take place at the presidential suite at Washington DC's Union Station, according to ticketing information obtained by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Alexandria diocese plans to file prearranged chapter 11' after settlement with victims to avoid lengthy delays'A Roman Catholic diocese in north-west Louisiana appears ready to join 40 other organizations of its kind in the US by filing for federal bankruptcy protection as the church's worldwide clergy molestation scandal continues reverberating, according to a letter obtained by the Guardian.But the diocese in question - that of Alexandria, Louisiana - is first aiming to reach a global settlement with those who already have pending clergy abuse claims demanding damages from the institution before it then files what it called a prearranged chapter 11" financial reorganization. As the letter authored by local attorneys for the Alexandria church put it, the purpose of the strategy is to avoid the lengthy delays and huge professional fees" incurred by the May 2020 bankruptcy filed by Louisiana's archdiocese of New Orleans. Continue reading...

Feeding America thanks Swift for major donation in response to hurricanes Helene and Milton, following her previous philanthropy for tornado relief in TennesseeTaylor Swift has donated $5m to relief efforts connected to hurricanes Helene and Milton.The charity Feeding America thanked Swift, saying it was incredibly grateful ... This contribution will help communities rebuild and recover, providing essential food, clean water, and supplies to people affected by these devastating storms." Continue reading...

BBC says 37 of the women worked at Harrods, and earliest accusation of abuse dates back to 1977A further 65 women have come forward to the BBC with allegations of abuse by Mohamed Al Fayed going as far back as 1977.Since the broadcast of the BBC documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods, in which five women claimed to have been raped by the billionaire, more women have come forward with claims of sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape, the BBC reported. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Letter from union leaders and renters' groups urges government to tackle root cause of unaffordable rentsUnions are calling on ministers to undo years of damage to the housing sector" by the previous Conservative government and honour its pledge to tackle the housing emergency by introducing a form of rent cap.Steve North, the president of Unison, the UK's largest union; Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), and Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, are among seven major union leaders and 19 signatories, including thinktanks, renters' groups and an estate agency firm, to back the calls. Continue reading...