World news | The Guardian

The man, who cannot be named, has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges including six counts of rape

Report claims 50-mile line would be slightly slower and significantly cheaper but deliver most of the benefitsA plan for a new high-speed rail line linking Birmingham and Manchester has been unveiled, claiming to deliver most of the benefits of the scrapped northern leg of HS2 at significantly cheaper cost and with only slightly longer journey times.The 50-mile track would run from where the HS2 line is now due to end in Staffordshire to join a planned Northern Powerhouse Rail line west of Manchester airport, under a plan unveiled by the mayors of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. Continue reading...

Poll of 2,000 adults found two fifths have only eaten fish in batter or breadcrumbs and some confuse fish with dogsDo you know Pollock from pollock or a collie from a coley? If you don't you are not alone as new research reveals that Britons struggle to name common fish, while two-fifths admit that they have only ever eaten it in batter or breadcrumbs".Over half of those surveyed had no idea that a John Dory was a spiny fish; 12% mistakenly thought he" was a famous poet, according to the Marine Stewardship Council poll. Continue reading...

Measures would see companies failing to meet anti-scam obligations forced to pay compensation, government says

Approval requires the establishment of a noise amelioration program for nearby communities

Document detailing deterioration' under Kais Saied will fuel concerns about bloc's migration deal with his countryThe EU fears its credibility is at stake as it seeks to weigh growing concerns about the crushing of dissent in Tunisia while preserving a controversial migration deal with the north African country, according to a leaked document.An internal report drafted by the EU's diplomatic service (EEAS), seen by the Guardian, details a clear deterioration of the political climate and a shrinking civic space" under the Tunisian president, Kais Saied, who has suspended parliament and concentrated power in his hands since starting his term of office in 2019. Continue reading...

The conversation wasn't being had that vocally', radio presenter tells Women's HealthJo Whiley has said she really lost" herself when she was going through the perimenopause, in part because public conversations were not being had about the issue.The BBC Radio 2 DJ, 59, praised the former Big Brother presenter Davina McCall for opening up debate about the issue through her campaigning, which led to a television series, documentary, podcast and books. Continue reading...

Twenty out of 28 say law should be changed, with parliament expected to debate issue in coming monthsA citizens' jury has overwhelmingly backed the legalisation of assisted dying for terminally ill people after hearing from experts over a period of eight weeks.Twenty out of 28 jurors based in England agreed the law should be changed, with seven disagreeing and one person saying they were undecided. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Libertarian MP John Ruddick says the gods have smiled on us' after a Liberal party bungle opened the door for others seeking council seats

Two former DHS heads named in report after inquiry by Australian Public Service Commission but will not face sanctions

Australia's defence minister has sent letters to fewer than 15 people to let them know whether their awards are being cancelled or retained

Document tabled in parliament reveals attorney general approved WA Liberal senator's application for legal assistance

Junk food ad ban, age limit on energy drinks and expanded water fluoridation among measures planned to help NHSPlans to ban junk food ads and to stop children buying high-caffeine energy drinks are among radical public health measures being drawn up by ministers to prevent illness and so ease pressure on the NHS.The government made clear it would face down predictable cries of nanny state'" because Keir Starmer was convinced this was the way to fix the service. Continue reading...

UK PM responds to Putin's threat that use of long-range British missiles inside Russia would put it at war with NatoKeir Starmer has told Vladimir Putin that he started the war in Ukraine and could end it at any time after the Russian leader warned that any use of long-range British missiles into Russian territory would put Nato at war with his country.The prime minister spoke en route to Washington to see US president Joe Biden as he sought to justify a western decision made behind closed doors that would allow Ukraine to attack inside Russia with partly British-made Storm Shadow missiles. Continue reading...

Scott McAfee finds state prosecutors did not have authority to bring charges related to alleged filing of false documentsA Georgia judge on Thursday dismissed two criminal counts in the United States' 2020 election interference case against Donald Trump and one other count against allies of the Republican presidential candidate.Fulton county judge Scott McAfee found that state prosecutors did not have the authority to bring those charges, which related to the alleged filing of false documents in federal court. Continue reading...

Marieha Hussain attended a London march against the war in Gaza carrying a sign depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconutsA woman who held a poster depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts during a London protest against Israel's war in Gaza has gone on trial accused of a racially aggravated offence.Marieha Hussain, 37, pleaded not guilty as her trial began at Westminster magistrates court on Thursday morning. Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan said the term coconut" was a well-known racial slur which has a very clear meaning". Continue reading...

Vice-president travels to swing state of North Carolina as Republican opponent says there will be no third debate'

Video of exchange with Trump supporter in Pennsylvania shows president joking he can't remember his own nameIn a bitter and fraught US election, a rare moment of jollity broke through when video of Joe Biden joking with a Trump supporter about his age and trying on his Trump 2024 hat went viral.At an event on Wednesday in Pennsylvania, Biden even joked with the man that he could not remember his own name. Continue reading...

West Yorkshire city to host magic, music, film and theatre performances celebrating local talent, plus Turner prizeA city centre magic show, the Brontes as you've never seen them before, and a bassline house symphony are all part of Bradford's City of Culture lineup, which its organisers call a celebration of everything that makes the West Yorkshire city great.Shanaz Gulzar, the creative director of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, said the whole of the country was invited to come next year to a place she billed as young, diverse, creative and the heart of the UK". Continue reading...

Protests in West Bank village had subsided half an hour before IDF shot Ayenur Ezgi Eygi, says reportIsraeli security forces mischaracterised the events that led up to the fatal shooting of a Turkish-American protester in the West Bank, according to an investigation by the Washington Post.The Israel Defense Forces claimed that their soldiers were targeting the leader of a violent protest when they shot Ayenur Ezgi Eygi, a 26-year-old member of the International Solidarity Movement who had come from her native Washington state to Israel to protest against settlements in the West Bank. Continue reading...

Comments come after Antony Blinken hints US will lift restrictions on Kyiv's use of weapons inside RussiaVladimir Putin has said that a western move to let Kyiv use longer-range weapons against targets inside Russia would mean Nato would be at war" with Moscow.Putin spoke as US and UK top diplomats discussed easing rules on firing western weapons into Russia, which Kyiv has been pressing for, more than two and a half years into Moscow's offensive. Continue reading...

Party took 5m after Rishi Sunak condemned businessman for saying Abbott made you want to hate all black women'

Spokesperson for Keir Starmer says focus was instead on encouraging pensioners to seek additional supportMinisters did not carry out a specific impact assessment on the withdrawal of the winter fuel payment from the bulk of pensioners, such as the potential effect on illness and death rates among older people, Downing Street has said.After days of No 10 refusing to comment, Keir Starmer's deputy spokesperson said the only assessment made before the policy announcement was a standard legal one of potential equalities impacts. Continue reading...

Yossi Sariel takes responsibility for military surveillance unit's role in intelligence failures before Hamas-led assaultThe commander of Israel's military surveillance agency, Unit 8200, has announced his resignation, publicly accepting responsibility for failings that contributed to the deadly 7 October attacks.Yossi Sariel said on Tuesday that he had informed his superiors of his intention to step down after the completion of an initial investigation into Unit 8200's role in failures surrounding the Hamas-led assault last year. Continue reading...

Ukrainian president says his country's incursion still going to plan', as Russian forces make rapid advances

Clemency Jacques is one of 134,500 people repaying 251m in carer's allowance overpaymentsAn unpaid carer threatened with prosecution for fraud after inadvertently breaching benefit rules has had a 1,300 penalty waived by officials after her case appeared in the Guardian.Clemency Jacques, who cares for her disabled son and elderly mother, said she was given the choice of paying the charge or risking police arrest and a court appearance after running up a 2,600 carer's allowance overpayment. Continue reading...

The prime minister blamed the Tories for breaking' the NHS and said reform of the service was neededStarmer sets out some of the most negative findings in the report.Take the waiting times in A&A - more than 100,000 infants waited more than six hours last year.And nearly a tenth of all patients are now waiting for 12 hours or more.Even Lord Darzi, with all his years of experience, is shocked by what he discovered. It is unforgivable, and people have every right to be angry. Continue reading...

Dominique Pelicot has been excused from court because of poor health and proceedings could be delayed if he remains ill for a long periodThe trial of a French man accused of recruiting strangers to rape his heavily sedated wife has been adjourned until Monday after the suspect was excused from attending in light of his deteriorating health, the court has said.Should Dominique Pelicot, 71, be unavailable to attend proceedings for a lengthy period of time, then the trial will be postponed to a later date, the presiding judge, Roger Arata, said on Thursday. Continue reading...

Irish building materials firm was identified by Grenfell inquiry as behaving with persistent dishonesty'A second professional golfer, Leona Maguire, is under pressure to end her sponsorship deal with the Irish company Kingspan after the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster found it behaved with persistent dishonesty" in selling combustible foam insulation.Grenfell United (GU), the bereaved and survivors group, is calling on the 29-year-old to drop the firm and stop wearing its logo on her golf shirts after the Ryder Cup player Shane Lowry announced he was doing so earlier this week. Continue reading...

Expanding access to Oxbridge and other leading institutions would boost social mobility, say authors of new bookStrictly limiting the numbers of private school pupils attending Oxford, Cambridge and other leading universities is a radical" move needed to boost UK social mobility and improve access to elite professions, according to the authors of a new book.Aaron Reeves and Sam Friedman, professors of sociology at the London School of Economics, argue that pupils from prestigious private schools such as Eton and Winchester have maintained a disproportionate grip on Oxbridge and Russell Group university places, despite recent improvements in admission policies. Continue reading...

Two women posted YouTube video in 2021 falsely claiming French president's wife was previously a man, prompting her to file libel complaintA court has ordered two women to pay 8,000 in damages to France's first lady, Brigitte Macron, after making false claims she was transgender, sparking online rumour-mongering by conspiracy theorists and the far right.The women had posted a YouTube video in December 2021 alleging the French president's wife had once been a man named Jean-Michel, an untruth that went viral just weeks before the 2022 presidential election and prompted Brigitte Macron to file a libel complaint. Continue reading...

David Knowles, who helped make Ukraine: The Latest podcast, died on holiday after suspected cardiac arrestUK counter-terrorism police are providing support to the investigation into the death of a Daily Telegraph journalist in Gibraltar.David Knowles died while on holiday on Sunday after what his employers said was believed to be a cardiac arrest. Continue reading...

Although Zelenskiy posted on social media that Russia was to blame, the ICRC statement did not apportion blame to any partyAntony Blinken and David Lammy's joint trip to Kyiv, to be followed by Keir Starmer's trip to Washington DC to see Joe Biden on Friday, has inevitably lifted expectations that Ukraine will shortly be given permission to fire Anglo-French Storm Shadow and US Atacms missiles, which have a range of 190 miles plus, into Russia.There are no shortage of risks. Allowing Ukraine to fire western-made weapons deep into Russia could have a dramatic political impact on the course of a war mired in a grim, attritional slog that appears to be favouring Moscow, whose forces are bearing down on the strategic town of Pokrovsk. Continue reading...

Neuroscientist says ageing population puts country at forefront of dementia, the leading cause of premature death in older Australians

Richard Marles and Bill Shorten's old union, the Australian Workers Union, in stoush to pick candidate for Gorton

Bill is laid before parliament after years of campaigning by mother of Manchester Arena bombing victimPubs and clubs that can hold 200 people could be fined 10,000 if the owners fail to comply with a new law that is meant to protect against terror attacks.Martyn's law, otherwise known as the terrorism (protection of premises) bill, will require all venues with a capacity of more than 199 people to take steps to ensure they have a plan in place in case of an attack on their premises. Continue reading...

David Lammy says aid workers must be able to do their jobs and reiterates calls for a ceasefireSyrian media is reporting that in addition to killing two people in a drone strike on a vehicle inside Syria, Israeli forces have also shelled the Syrian town of Al-Rafid in the south-east of the country, close to territory controlled by Israel.The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said that Israeli attacks have killed at least 34 people and injured 96 over the past 24 hours in the territory. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Michelin, Dunlop, Goodyear and Bridgestone products have found way to Russia via intermediariesMore than $30m (23m) worth of aircraft tyres made by western manufacturers including the French firm Michelin and Britain's Dunlop were imported into Russia last year via intermediaries despite attempts to ban the trade, according to a Ukrainian government agency.Russian aviation is critically dependent on foreign-made tyres and, according to the available customs records, the vast majority imported into the country in 2023 were produced by companies headquartered in France, Britain, the US and Japan. Continue reading...

Category 2 hurricane left trail of flooding and wind damage, including 6-8in of rain in New OrleansFrancine's center moved inland on Thursday after making landfall as a category 2 hurricane and had weakened to a tropical storm leaving a trail of flooding and wind damage in its wake.Francine will now progressively deteriorate as it tracks across west-central Mississippi into the mid-south on Thursday and Friday. The storm is forecast to spin down and become a tropical depression by late Thursday and a post-tropical cyclone by Thursday night or early Friday. Continue reading...

Prime minister promises 10-year plan after Darzi report concludes health service in a critical condition'

Parents of babies murdered by former hospital nurse say critics using families' losses to build their own reputationsThe parents of babies murdered by the former nurse Lucy Letby have said conspiracy theorists should be ashamed", in a statement read by a lawyer to a public inquiry.Letby, 34, was sentenced to 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted across two trials of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others. Continue reading...

Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser and Igor Sergunin accused of passing messages between jailed opposition leader and alliesThree lawyers who represented the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have gone on trial for extremism".Navalny died in February in unclear circumstances in an Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence for leading an extremist" organisation. Continue reading...

Judges praise Anam as profoundly relevant' with Daniel Browning, Amy Crutchfield and Will Kostakis also winning in their categories

Kelly Ortberg in last-minute plea to assembly staff due to vote on 25% pay offer, with business in difficult period'Boeing's new chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, has pleaded with workers to not go on strike, before a crucial union vote on Thursday, warning the action would put the company's recovery in jeopardy".About 33,000 aircraft assembly workers, most of them in the Seattle area, are due to vote on a pay offer that includes rises worth 25% over four years. Continue reading...

Follow today's news live

Children's commissioner warns referral mechanism does not offer sufficient protection, after FoI data reveals scale of problem

City's police department thanks rock singer after he is pictured talking to and embracing a woman on the Seigenthaler pedestrian bridgeJon Bon Jovi has been praised by Nashville's police department after the rock star helped to talk a distressed woman off the edge of a bridge.The incident took place on the city's Seigenthaler pedestrian bridge on Tuesday evening, which spans the Cumberland River. In surveillance footage, the woman is seen to have climbed over the bridge's railing and is stood on a ledge on the other side. Bon Jovi is pictured calmly engaging in conversation with the woman, before he and a companion help the woman back over the railing. Later, Bon Jovi gives her a warm embrace and walks with her back across the bridge. Continue reading...

Prosecutor says disposal of bodies must be considered when sentencing former Jetstar pilot over Carol Clay's murder in the Wonnangatta Valley

Facilities to receive greater protection in attempt to reduce potential impact of adverse incidents or attacksDatacentres in the UK are to be designated as critical national infrastructure in an effort to protect them from cyber-attacks and IT blackouts, the government has said.The buildings store much of the data generated in the UK, including photos taken on smartphones, financial information and NHS records. Continue reading...

The 30-year ordeal - including almost five years in prison for a bank robbery he didn't commit - has had a catastrophic impact, barrister tells court