World news | The Guardian

Three adults and one minor arrested over suspected acts of terrorism against Palestinians, Israeli security services say. This live blog is closedThe crew of a Greek-flagged oil tanker that was attacked in the Red Sea on Wednesday abandoned the vessel and were rescued by the EU's Red Sea naval mission Aspides", an official in the mission told Reuters on Thursday.The Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea region since November in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Continue reading...

Building society staff surprised to receive card believed to date back to 1903 and addressed to Lydia DavisIn the age of next-day deliveries and speedy shipping from all corners of the world, the days of waiting around for a letter or package were thought to be over. In Swansea however, staff at a building society were taken aback after receiving a postcard that was delivered 121 years late.The card, printed with a view of a stag standing in front of snowy mountains, is believed to date back to 1903 but was only recently received by staff at Swansea Building Society in Cradock Street. Continue reading...

Tech tycoon's 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still unaccounted for, reports say. This live blog is closed

Birmingham was planning 300m in cuts but there are concerns the council's financial crisis was overstatedPoliticians in Birmingham have called for council cuts, thought to be the biggest in local authority history, to be halted or scaled back due to concerns the council's financial crisis may have been overstated.Birmingham city council is planning to make 300m in savings and sell assets worth 750m before April 2026 after it issued a section 114 notice, effectively declaring bankruptcy, in September last year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Pledge comes after mayor met parents of Selena Lau and Nuria Sajjad, who were killed in Wimbledon crashSadiq Khan will ask senior leaders in the Metropolitan police to consider expediting investigations into collisions where children have died after meeting the parents of the two girls who were killed in the Wimbledon school crash.The mayor of London's pledge comes after he met the families of Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau. The two eight-year-olds died last year after a Land Rover ploughed into the Study Prep school in Wimbledon, south-west London. Continue reading...

A quarter of all incidents, such as destruction of dams, pipelines and treatment plants, seen in Gaza Strip and West BankIsraeli attacks on Palestinian water supplies in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip accounted for a quarter of all water-related violence in 2023, as armed conflicts over dwindling resources surged globally, according to new research.Almost 350 water conflicts were documented worldwide in 2023, a 50% rise on 2022, which was also a record year, according to the Pacific Institute, a California-based non partisan thinktank tracking water violence. The violence included attacks on dams, pipelines, wells, treatment plants and workers, as well as public unrest and disputes over access to water, and the use of water as a weapon of war. Continue reading...

Comments come after wave of false claims online about suspect in killing of 11-year-old boyA Spanish judge has called for an end to social media anonymity in the wake of a wave of online disinformation after the killing of an 11-year-old boy.Miguel Angel Aguilar, a judge from the court that handles hate crimes and discrimination, wants to oblige platforms to reveal users' true identity in cases of suspected hate crime so the law can impose digital restraining orders. Continue reading...

Jenny Paterson says council are not very interested in us' so she and her neighbour tackled holes themselvesAs a resident of Caithness, the most northerly part of the British mainland, Jenny Paterson has access to unspoilt wilderness, dramatic seascapes and spectacular sightings of the aurora borealis.Yet at a more mundane level, the scourge of potholes respects no boundaries, and so the 75-year-old decided to fill in the accident-inducing eyesores outside her home by herself, with the help of a neighbour and some gardening equipment. Continue reading...

Patio cleaner in Staffordshire will pay 'significant damages and legal costs' to group behind easyJet brandA pressure washing company will have to change its name from EasyJetwash and pay damages after a trademark dispute with the group behind the easyJet brand.EasyGroup said the jetwash company's founder, Jozsef Spekker, had agreed to pay significant damages and legal costs without having to go to a full trial in court". Continue reading...

Gap on top grades between private and comprehensive schools rises from 28.2 percentage points to 29 percentage points

Unite union makes claim as it calls on CMA to block tie-up that would bring 27m customers under one provider

Claudiu-Carol Kondor, 42, described by colleagues as cherished friend' as police appeal for witnessesA 32-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a parcel delivery driver was killed in Leeds.Detectives are appealing for witnesses to the death of Claudiu-Carol Kondor, 42, who was described by his colleagues as a dedicated and cherished" friend. Continue reading...

Arakan Army targeting Muslim minority as Myanmar's military are driven out of Rakhine, UN official saysThousands of Rohingya are being forced to flee from their homes in Myanmar and escape on dangerous boat journeys after being targeted by armed rebels, activists and officials say.Having seized control of much of Myanmar's Rakhine state from the military, the rebel Arakan Army has turned on the Rohingya minority in areas it controls, shelling villages, forcing them to leave their homes and reportedly rounding up groups of men. Continue reading...

State government apologises for data system breach as victim says it left her completely defeated, broken, scared and worried'

Freedom, the central song in the Kamala Harris campaign, appeared in a Trump campaign video but was contested by singer's label and publisherBeyonce has blocked Donald Trump from using her song Freedom, after the track - the central song for the Kamala Harris campaign - was used for a Trump campaign video on social media.Trump spokesman Steven Cheung posted the video showing Trump walking off a plane, backed by Freedom. Rolling Stone and Billboard reported that Beyonce's record label and publisher moved to block the use, and Cheung's video has now been deleted from social media. Continue reading...

Results show wide variations across England, while share of top grades in Wales and Northern Ireland drops

Staff urged to speak to authorities if they have experienced an unsafe workplace as Anton Forte resigns from hospitality association

Former prime minister adds $461,445 to his expenses, while Linda Reynolds incurs $166,700 in costs related to Brittany Higgins's rape allegation

Former defence minister claims trust was created with the intention of defeating or delaying' her former staffer's creditors, of which she is one

Class action claimed 35% of embryos destroyed after flawed testing could have resulted in viable pregnancy

Support for idea comes as Victorian government unveils plan to fast-track planning approvals in 10 hubs across city

Criminals are tricking young people into sending intimate images, then demanding money. Experts explain how to deal with these attacks

Federal police said the man was taken to hospital for assessment after he left the plane

Former deputy immigration secretary says James Paterson quoted him very, very selectively' from interview in The Australian

Southbank man, understood to be a food delivery rider, died at scene of crash on Plummer Street in Port Melbourne

Charity says rise hugely concerning' and calls for change in law in England and Northern Ireland in line with rest of UKConcerns raised to the NSPCC helpline about children being physically punished have more than tripled in a year, the charity has said.Helpline staff heard about children being hit, slapped and shaken, with 45% of the concerns raised requiring a referral to social services, the police or other agencies.The NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. Continue reading...

Zoo staff brought Magic to Sphen's side to process the loss, and the penguin colony joined in his mournful call

Former Obama adviser David Axelrod says ex-president and wife made Trump alien to values most Americans share'

Officers called to house in Accrington on Tuesday after 53-year-old dog owner found deadPolice have launched an investigation after a man was killed by his own XL bully dog in Lancashire.Officers were called to reports of a canine attacking someone inside a house in Accrington shortly before 9.30pm on Tuesday, Lancashire police said. Continue reading...

Pentagon investment would make North America's first cobalt sulfate refinery as US looks to diversify supply chainThe US military has made its largest investment in Canada's mining sector in decades, spending millions amid a looming battle among nations to control the supply of cobalt.On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced a $20m grant to help build a cobalt refinery in the province of Ontario, saying the investment will create a more robust industrial base capable of meeting growing demand across both the defense and commercial sectors". Continue reading...

With hustle kingdoms' teaching young people the tricks of the trade, there has been a surge in blackmailing crimes

Exclusive: Agency says foreign gangs not safe from prosecution in UK and plans new recording label to track extent of the crime

English banker Jonathan Bloomer and American lawyer Chris Morvillo reportedly confirmed as among bodies recovered by Italian rescuersReuters, citing a source, reports that one of the two bodies found by divers is a heavily built man."Italian rescue divers have found two bodies inside the sunken luxury yacht, Reuters reported citing a source. Continue reading...

Identities not disclosed but UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter were among those onboard

Bodies of missing people recovered as witnesses and experts ponder fate of ship hit by localised storm off SicilyFishers in the Sicilian village of Porticello who witnessed the Bayesian superyacht sink rapidly in a violent storm on Monday say that the vessel was in the wrong place at the wrong time.But for Italian prosecutors investigating the incident, their focus will be on whether the captain and crew took all the necessary safety measures to prevent the tragedy. Continue reading...

Campaigners are warning the chancellor that any delay will keep hundreds of thousands of children in povertyRachel Reeves is coming under renewed pressure to end the two-child benefit cap at next month's budget, after the Guardian revealed the chancellor is preparing to keep it in place.MPs and anti-poverty campaigners are warning that any delay in scrapping the cap will keep hundreds of thousands of children in poverty, with just weeks until Reeves unveils her first major fiscal package. Continue reading...

Rightwing leader to speak at benefit dinner for climate-change denying thinktank, as he sunsets' party's chief executive roleNigel Farage is scheduled to make a third visit to the US in little more than two months since he was elected MP, speaking at a dinner for a rightwing think tank where tables cost up to $50,000 each to reserve.The Reform UK leader is listed as the main speaker at a benefit event for the Heartland Institute, an Illinois-based organisation which is a denier of human-created climate change. Its president, James Taylor, who is also speaking, has called climate change a sham". Continue reading...

Extreme heat affecting nearly 23m people across US south-west and pushing Texas's electrical grid to the limitA heat dome covering the US's south-west region is affecting nearly 23 million Americans, bringing with it some of the highest temperatures of the summer and putting pressure on the electrical grid in Texas.The heat dome phenomenon occurs when strong, high pressure traps hot air over a region, preventing cool air from traveling in and causing temperatures to rise on the ground and stay high. Continue reading...

Number of homes struck in Golan Heights, with one person woundedHezbollah has launched more than 50 rockets and a swarm of drones towards northern Israel, hitting a number of homes in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and wounding one person.The strikes on Wednesday by the Lebanese militant group came the day after the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, met mediators from Egypt and Qatar, even as Hamas and Israel poured cold water on any prospect of any imminent pause in the fighting in Gaza. Continue reading...

Sketch duo Amy Gledhill and Chris Cantrill's solo shows have both been nominated for the fringe's top prize, alongside acts including LA clown Natalie PalamidesFor the first time in its 43-year-history, male comedians are in the minority on the shortlist for the prestigious Edinburgh comedy award. The nominations for the prize, formerly known as the Perrier, also include two closely entwined pairs of comedians, with Catherine Bohart lining up against her former partner Sarah Keyworth, and Amy Gledhill pitted against the other half of her sketch double-act The Delightful Sausage (themselves twice previously nominated for the award), Chris Cantrill. Also featuring on the list are 2017's best newcomer Natalie Palamides with the extraordinary Weer, and a pair of Australians: the tomfoolish Josh Glanc and the queer cabaret powerhouse Reuben Kaye.The awards' producer and West End impresario Nica Burns hailed the range of comic styles represented, from clowning to character comedy to musical comedy and traditional standup". The favourite is probably LA clown Palamides (already a Netflix star with her unforgettable special Nate), with an outrageous romcom pastiche that casts either side of her body as two lovers in a messy 1990s romance. East Midlander Keyworth's show My Eyes Are Up Here, about their recent top surgery, already has a top prize in the bag from this year's Melbourne comedy festival; acts including Hannah Gadsby with Nanette have done that awards double-whammy before. A victory for the singer and comedian Kaye would be seen as a vindication for his campaign, staged on and offstage, to resist burgeoning queerphobia in Australia and beyond. Continue reading...

Fans can stay at the Casbah Coffee Club where the Quarrymen, the precursor band to the Beatles, had a residencyThey are probably the most famous band in the world, but without a dilapidated building in Liverpool, a lucky bet on a race horse and one woman's ambitious dream, the Beatles may never have existed.The Casbah Coffee Club, owned by the mother of the band's original drummer, Pete Best, is where it all began for the Fab Four. She purchased the building after winning a bet and gave the Quarrymen - the precursor band to the Beatles - a residency. Continue reading...

Amnesty International UK says Labour is reheating' the previous government's rhetoric as Yvette Cooper vows to increase removalsClean water campaigner Feargal Sharkey has written an opinion piece for the Guardian about the ways in which privatised water firms have polluted English rivers and beaches with sewage, causing significant damage to public health.You can read it in full here: Continue reading...

Exclusive: In his parting words, the member for Moreton says people shouldn't underestimate the influence of backbenchers' who can make real change'

In the annals of Australian parliament's rough and tumble, this latest barb stands out as an oldie but a goodie

Attorney general approves legal assistance in relation to a defamation claim' made against PM and approval for claims against Bill ShortenThe attorney general has approved legal assistance for Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten in relation to defamation threats by a business associate of the former Liberal minister Stuart Robert.On 12 August Mark Dreyfus approved assistance in relation to a defamation claim" made against the prime minister on 23 July and for defamation claims on 23 and 25 July against Shorten, the government services and national disability insurance scheme minister, according to documents tabled to parliament. Continue reading...

Mayor says no damage or casualties reported as 11 drones are downedUkraine's parliament voted on Wednesday to ratify the Rome Statute, a senior lawmaker said, paving the way for Kyiv to join the International Criminal Court.In a Telegram post, Yaroslav Zhelezniak said 281 deputies had voted for the measure, a key requirement for Ukraine to eventually join the European Union. Continue reading...

Overcrowding in humanitarian zone dissuading those given evacuation orders by IDF from leaving, say UN officialsThousands of people facing Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have been forced to abandon plans to comply with Israeli evacuation orders telling them to move to a designated safe humanitarian zone" because there is no space for them there.At the weekend the Israeli military told residents of multiple neighbourhoods in and around the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah to leave their homes ahead of planned attacks and go to the narrow strip of coast around the small town of al-Mawasi that was designated earlier in the war to receive displaced people. Continue reading...

Web developer arrested in Lahore and charged with cyberterrorism over dissemination of misinformationPolice in Pakistan have charged a man with cyberterrorism for his alleged role in spreading misinformation thought to have led to widespread rioting in the UK, a senior investigator has said.The suspect was identified as Farhan Asif, 32, a freelance web developer, said Imran Kishwar, the deputy inspector general of investigations in Lahore. Continue reading...

Television presenter worries more about cars and drugs' than risks from three-week Interrailing trip with friendThe TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has defended her decision to let her 15-year-old son Interrail across Europe without her, on grounds that she worries more about cars and drugs" than travel.Allsopp's news sparked controversy on social media, with some people opining that her son, Oscar Hercules, who turns 16 on Wednesday, was too young to travel around Europe for three weeks with a teenage friend. Continue reading...

Man arrested in early hours of Wednesday at scene of blaze in which woman and three children diedA man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman and three children died after a house fire in Bradford.Police were called in the early hours of Wednesday by the fire service, who had attended the blaze in a property in Westbury Road. Continue reading...