World news | The Guardian

State records 433 mpox cases and 26 hospitalisations since June, following a similar spike in Victoria

The escalating Middle East conflict could create a dangerous vacuum - or an opportunity - for several statesThe coincidental timing of an emergency meeting of Gulf foreign ministers in Doha with a visit to the same city by the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, for talks with Qatar's emir raises questions about how the Gulf states will react if Israel pushes ahead with its plan to use its recent military success not just to weaken Iran, but reorder the Middle East.This Sunni coalition of six Gulf monarchs is not naturally well disposed to Iran or its Shia proxies, and only in 2016 labelled Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. But they also oppose further Israeli escalation, and believe it is ultimately only Washington that has the means to restrain the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue reading...

Credibility damaged' by proposed 12-month delay, which followed lobbying from governments and firms around the worldA former top environment official has said the EU's credibility on its climate commitments has been damaged by plans for a one-year delay to a law to combat deforestation that followed intense lobbying from companies and governments around the world.Virginijus Sinkeviius, a Lithuanian MEP who was the environment commissioner until mid-July, said postponing the deforestation regulation would be a step backward in the fight against climate change". Continue reading...

Experts are calling for rapid rescue package' for nature to improve condition of protected sitesThe amount of land that is protected for nature in England has fallen to just 2.93%, despite government promises to conserve 30% of it by 2030, new data reveals.Campaigners are calling for a rapid rescue package for UK nature", as government delegates head to Cop16, the international nature summit, which will take place from 21 October in Colombia. They intend to ask other countries to stick to ambitious nature targets. Continue reading...

The H5N1 virus killed 47 tigers, three lions and a panther at the My Quynh safari park and the Vuon Xoai zoo, according to state mediaForty-seven tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in south Vietnam due to the H5N1 bird flu virus, state media reported.The deaths occurred in August and September at the private My Quynh safari park in Long An province and the Vuon Xoai zoo in Dong Nai, near the capital Ho Chi Minh City, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported on Wednesday. Continue reading...

The RBA's decision to maintain its restrictive policy stance in the near-term is appropriate,' fund says in latest assessment report

Saturday morning showers will make way for a top of 29C on Sunday and 27C Monday, good news for NRL and NRLW fans headed to grand finals

Defectors seeking to cross back into North Korea from the South are rare, though many struggle to adapt to life in their democratic, capitalist neighbourA North Korean defector living in South Korea has been detained after ramming a stolen bus into a barricade on a bridge near the heavily militarised border, in a failed attempt to return to his isolated homeland.The man - who fled to the South in 2011 - ignored warnings from soldiers to stop while attempting on Tuesday to drive through the Tongil Bridge in Paju, just south of the heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas, according to media reports citing South Korean provincial police. Continue reading...

Some councils are already spending up to 80% of their budget on social care and say costs are rising and increasingly unsustainableThe spiralling cost of social services is eating into the budgets of England's largest councils to the extent that many will soon be forced to abandon nice to have" functions such as arts and youth clubs and Sure Start centres.Council leaders are concerned town halls are at risk of becoming care authorities" focused primarily on the provision of care packages to an expanding number of at-risk children and frail adults at the expense of other services. Continue reading...

Researchers suggest stricter regulation as one in 10 people in Britain aged 16 or over now use e-cigarettesOne million people in England now vape despite never having been regular smokers, a seven-fold increase in just three years, according to research that has prompted alarm among health experts.Rates of e-cigarette use among adults who had never regularly smoked were stable until 2021, when one in 200 - about 133,000 people - were vapers. However, the proportion has increased sharply to one in 28 in 2024 - 1,006,000 people - a study published in The Lancet Public Health journal suggests. Continue reading...

Top Israeli diplomat at UN warns his country's retaliation for Iranian missile attack will be heavier than Tehran could ever have imagined'Joe Biden has said he would not support an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites, as the US sought to temper Israel's response to Iran's missile attack on Tuesday and contain a rapidly escalating regional conflict.Biden's comments came after the top Israeli diplomat at the UN warned his country's retaliation for an Iranian salvo of nearly 200 ballistic missiles would be heavier than Tehran could ever have imagined". Continue reading...

Hawks argue Tehran's missile assault gives legitimacy to a direct attack on Iran - but would wars and wars and wars' guarantee greater security?Israel is enjoying a moment of military and intelligence triumph. Over two weeks, it has killed an archenemy" in his secret bunker, decimated Hezbollah's leadership, blown up the militant group's communications networks and parts of its arsenal and humbled its sponsor, Iran.As its ground troops marched into Lebanon, Israel fended off a large-scale Iranian ballistic missile attack with backing from the US and other allies. Continue reading...

Mark Chavez, 52, signed a plea agreement in which he admitted to obtaining ketamine from his former clinicOne of two doctors charged in the investigation of the death of Matthew Perry pleaded guilty on Wednesday in a federal court in Los Angeles to conspiring to distribute the surgical anesthetic ketamine.Dr Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, signed a plea agreement with prosecutors in August and is now the third person to plead guilty in the aftermath of the Friends star's fatal overdose last year. Continue reading...

First charter flight has left Beirut, says David Lammy, with officials planning sea and air' rescues if situation worsens

Joan E Greve and Leah Wright Rigueur discuss JD Vance and Tim Walz's clash on the debate stage in New York City on Tuesday night. Although Walz gave a solid performance, it was described as underwhelming, while Vance attempted to reset his image and get on the front foot. Will this debate have moved the needle at all? And as the situation in the Middle East escalates, where do Trump and Harris stand on foreign policy?Archive: Continue reading...

At least 70 dead as Israeli strikes against Hamas continue despite attention shifting to Lebanon and Iran

Most of the defensive effort appears to have been undertaken by Israeli air defence systems

Prime minister is covering cost of Taylor Swift tickets and designer clothing rental agreement after donations rowKeir Starmer has paid back more than 6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality, including Taylor Swift tickets and rented clothing for his wife, after a row over his acceptance of freebies.The prime minister handed back some tickets and gifts he had received since he entered No 10 in July as he vowed to overhaul the rules on what ministers are allowed to accept. Continue reading...

Prosecutors say Christian Bruckner, main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case, should be kept in preventive detentionGerman prosecutors have called for a sexual offences conviction and 15-year prison sentence for a man who is also under investigation separately over the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann.The 47-year-old German national, who has been identified by local media as Christian Bruckner, is on trial at the Braunschweig state court in northern Germany over offences he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. Continue reading...

British rock band also agree to sell rights to their name and likeness after years of reported infighting among membersPink Floyd has reportedly reached a deal with Sony to sell their music catalog, as well as their name and likeness, for about $400m.The British rock band agreed to sell the rights to their recorded music catalog, their name and their likeness, but not the rights to their songwriting, according to the Financial Times, who first reported the news of the deal on Tuesday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Continue reading...

Peter Beaumont joins Michael Safi from Jerusalem to discuss the unprecedented attack on Israel by Iran - and what may come next Continue reading...

Star Wars actor will lead Otis & Zelma, which will celebrate the eternal love story' between the singer and his wifeJohn Boyega is set to play Otis Redding in a new film telling the story of the soul singer's decade-long relationship.Otis & Zelma will see the Star Wars and Attack the Block actor play the tragic star with Till breakout Danielle Deadwyler playing his wife, Zelma. Continue reading...

Villa Vie Odyssey set sail on three-and-a-half-year voyage on Monday after repairs but departure delayed againThe luxury cruise liner stranded in Belfast for four months remains anchored off the coast of Northern Ireland after two failed attempts to finally set sail on a round-the-world voyage.The Villa Vie Odyssey was originally due to embark on a perpetual" three-and-a-half-year trip on 30 May but was marooned after requiring repairs, leaving passengers stranded in Belfast over summer. Continue reading...

In separate incident, Swedish police launch investigation after shots fired at Israeli embassy in Stockholm

Police issue statement a day after cab driver told officers he thought a bullet had shattered his vehicle's windowThe Metropolitan police believe a mechanical failure, rather than a gunshot, shattered the window of a taxi carrying the Private Eye editor, Ian Hislop.On Tuesday morning police were called after a black-cab driver told detectives he had come to a standstill in traffic in Soho, central London, just after 10am. He heard what he believed was a bullet hitting and shattering his window. Continue reading...

One exercise in History of Australia, a student workbook and teaching manual, asks pupils to discuss how Aboriginal people were blessed' by the British coming

Premier promises to create energy price guarantee' if his party retains government at state election

Annual growth is at multi-year lows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, suggesting the stretch of rent rises may have peaked, Domain says

Caroline Sharpen says there's no precedent in the world' for a concert hall having to deal with 23,000-seat stadium just 170 metres from its stage

Adam Bandt to announce $54bn policy for at least six clinics in every electorate paid for by Robin Hood' tax reform

Community Security Trust says the number of antisemitic incidents has tripledBritish Jews are adjusting to a new reality" of heightened fear and high levels of antisemitism as the war in the Middle East escalates, campaigners have said.The warning comes as a data shows more than 5,500 antisemitic incidents in the UK in the year between 7 October 2023 and 30 September 2024. Continue reading...

Seventy also reported injured as schools, offices and financial markets shut and people are urged to stay at homeOne person has been killed, two are missing and 70 injured in bad weather from a typhoon approaching Taiwan, which grounded flights and closed all schools, offices and financial markets for Wednesday and Thursday.Typhoon Krathon reached super typhoon status in recent days but movement stalled overnight and its intensity has weakened as it moves slowly towards Taiwan's south-west. Authorities warned the threat of strong winds and storm surges remained for coastal and low-lying communities on the densely-populated west coast, and the mountainous areas remained at high risk of landslides and torrential rain. Continue reading...

Book claiming to tell story of abusive relationship was denounced by their children as fabricatedAmazon confirmed on Tuesday the removal of a memoir from its site that purports to tell the story of an abusive relationship between the late actor and model Kim Porter and her longtime partner, the hip-hop mogul Sean Diddy" Combs.Porter and Combs's children denounced the book - titled Kim's Lost Words: A journey for justice, from the other side ... - as a complete fabrication after it became a bestseller on Amazon in September. Continue reading...

Ex-finance chief says very few senior roles held by women, after he is asked about alleged culture of misogyny'A former Post Office finance chief has said the company's chief executive, Nick Read, prefers to work with teams of younger, deferential males", with very few senior roles held by female colleagues.Alisdair Cameron, who officially left the company in June after a year of sick leave, provided his view on the culture at the Post Office in response to the public inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal. Continue reading...

Challenger bank apologises after City regulator says lack of checks left system wide open to criminals and those subject to sanctions'

Bill to formalise state net zero target for 2050 left off list of legislative goals ahead of March election

Kody Adams, already facing charges, allegedly told Oklahoma police he had merely been borrowing' vehicleAn Oklahoma man who could not find a ride to a criminal court hearing on accusations that he had stolen a car worsened his legal peril by stealing an ambulance service's truck and driving himself to the courthouse, authorities allege.The bizarre case centers on Kody Adams, who was recently at a gasoline station in the community of Stillwater asking passersby whether they would drive him to Pawnee - about 30 minutes away - so that he could attend a court hearing there, as the Oklahoma highway patrol tells it. Continue reading...

Wausau mayor says he worried box could be tossed in river, as boxes remain fixture of debate over state administrationA Wisconsin mayor removed a ballot drop box from outside city hall and relocated it indoors last week - a performance that underscores the tensions and misinformation that surround election administration and the topic of ballot drop boxes in the state.Doug Diny, who donned a workperson's hat and gloves to move the drop box, claimed he did so because he was worried the box, which had not yet been fully installed and did not have any ballots in it, could have been tossed in the river. The city has since re-installed the dropbox outside the Wausau municipal building. Continue reading...

As Biden fights three fires at once, Trump sees chance to associate his rival for US presidency with chaos100" was spelled out in giant numbers on the White House north lawn on Tuesday. It was a birthday tribute to the former US president Jimmy Carter, who served only one term after being buffeted by external events such as high inflation and a hostage crisis in Iran.The current occupant of the White House, Joe Biden, must know the feeling as he fights three fires at once. Iran has launched at least 180 missiles into Israel, six US states are still reeling from Hurricane Helene, and ports from Maine to Texas shut down as about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike. Continue reading...

Woman alleged the man gave her a drink in a martini glass and her next memory was waking up in the accused's bed

Israeli officials reportedly considering significant retaliation' to Iranian attack within days

Cold and wet spring reduces demand for camping kit and clothing, while shipping rerouting delays deliveries

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Gareth Thomas admits compensation date for those caught up in Horizon IT scandal difficult to achievePost office operators affected by the Horizon IT scandal will not all receive payouts by the March 2025 deadline called for by the campaigner Sir Alan Bates, the postal minister has admitted.Gareth Thomas said it would be difficult to achieve the deadline but promised that there would be substantial progress" toward clearing the compensation claim backlog by next summer. Continue reading...

Abuse directed at Armstrong came after Media Watch segment critical of the Indigenous presenter

Defence secretary says UK military played part in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East'

Barrister-turned-informer began giving evidence to supreme court on Wednesday in trial against Victoria police

NSW police earlier said they hoped woman could assist with inquiries into the display of prohibited symbols at public order incident'

Campaigners argue court action to block Sydney protests oppressive' but PM says event on anniversary of 7 October attacks on Israel would be incredibly provocative'

Iran sends more than 180 ballistic missiles in dramatic escalation of conflictIsrael has vowed to retaliate after Iran launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at targets across Israel in a dramatic intensification of a conflict that appeared to be escalating out of control.Iran made a big mistake tonight - and it will pay for it," Benjamin Netanyahu told a meeting of his security cabinet late on Tuesday. The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies ... They will understand." Continue reading...