In latest scandal embroiling the Welsh cathedral, choir performed piece to protest about job losses and then walked outA cathedral choir has been suspended after it performed an entirely inappropriate" piece protesting about job losses during holy communion.Bangor Cathedral, which was criticised earlier this year over a culture of excessive drinking, sexual promiscuity and inappropriate banter, said it had paused all choir activity" for a month after the incident. It also said that Joe Cooper, the cathedral's director of music, was currently away from his duties". Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6ZYY4)
Auction house also takes hit from hefty severance costs, despite its headcount only dropping by 24 employeesLosses at Sotheby's auction house more than doubled last year, as the company owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi suffered from a continued slump in the art market and high severance costs.Filings from its parent company, Bidfair Luxembourg, showed losses widened significantly to $248m (184m) over the 12 months to 2024, after losses of $106m a year earlier. Continue reading...
Partnership blames restructuring costs plus tax rises and new packaging rules but expects full-year profit to growThe owner of John Lewis and Waitrose has said its losses widened to 88m in the first half of this year, as it took a hit from restructuring costs as well as new tax and regulatory charges.John Lewis Partnership, which operates 36 department stores and more than 300 Waitrose supermarkets, said new packaging regulations and national insurance payments had cost it 29m, while it spent 54m on restructuring its business. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6ZY81)
Chancellor stopped short of saying which regulators were in government's crosshairsThe chancellor Rachel Reeveshas told private equity bosses that she plans to shut down more regulators across the UK as she attempts to drive growth across Britain's subdued economy.Reeves - who in July claimed regulators were a boot on the neck" of business - cheered her recent decisions to sack the chair of the competitions watchdog, shut down the payments regulator, and severely" constrain the Financial Ombudsman Service, which UK banks have long lobbied to curtail. However, she said there was still more to do". Continue reading...
by Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent on (#6ZY82)
Sources say decision to collect modern' art could have two galleries at each others' throats' - but others welcome moveA decision to tear up an agreement between the National Gallery and Tate, which stopped the Trafalgar Square institution from collecting works created after 1900, could create bad blood" and a situation in which the two galleries are at each other's throats", according to senior sources.The National Gallery announced the shift as part of Project Domani, which involves it receiving 375m of investment for a new wing that will usher in a new tomorrow" at the 200-year-old institution. Continue reading...
Telecoms firm understood to have offered settlements to some franchisees outside high court claim as fresh inquiry beginsVodafone has launched a fourth investigation into the historical conduct within its franchising division, which is at the centre of a 120m high court claim against the mobile phone group.Vodafone is also understood to have offered financial settlements to a selection of former franchisees who are outside the group of 62 currently suing the business. Continue reading...
by Eleni Courea Political correspondent on (#6ZXHV)
Immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and a huge surge in aid into Gaza' only route to peace, says PMKeir Starmer has condemned Israel's strike on Qatar before a meeting with the Israeli president in London on Wednesday.The UK prime minister said the military strike, which targeted Hamas leaders stationed in Doha, was a violation of Qatar's sovereignty and risked further escalation across the region". Continue reading...
by Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent on (#6ZXBW)
Gallery secures huge investment at a time when many arts institutions are struggling to raise fundsThe National Gallery has lifted its ban on collecting modern paintings made after 1900 as part of a revamp that will include a new wing, made possible after it secured a landmark investment of 375m.A new part of the gallery will be built behind the Sainsbury building as part of Project Domani- tomorrow" in Italian - after two donations of 150m each from Michael Moritz's Crankstart foundation and the Hans and Julia Rausing Trust. Continue reading...
Police do not rule out possibility of finding more as incidents raise alarm over increase of anti-Muslim hatredAt least nine pigs' heads were found outside several mosques in the Paris region on Tuesday, the city's police chief said, sparking alarm over rising anti-Muslim hatred.Pigs' heads have been left in front of certain mosques ... Four in Paris and five in the inner suburbs," Laurent Nunez told a press conference, adding that officers were not ruling out the possibility of finding more". Continue reading...
by Rachel Savage in Johannesburg and agencies on (#6ZX8B)
ICC hearing takes place in absence of Ugandan rebel leader accused of murder, rape, torture and sexual slaveryAn international criminal court hearing into charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Ugandan fugitive rebel leader Joseph Kony has begun with accounts of atrocities allegedly committed by his Lord's Resistance Army.The ICC's first in-absentia hearing will confirm charges but cannot progress to a trial in Kony's absence. The warlord faces 39 counts, including murder, rape, sexual slavery, enslavement and torture, allegedly committed in northern Uganda between July 2002 and December 2005.Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report Continue reading...
Eldest son has the succession Rupert craved after agreeing a payout to his siblings far higher than previously offeredAs a keen rock climber, Lachlan Murdoch knows a thing or two about the importance of clinging on to perilous terrain. After the toughest ascent of his life - rising to the top of his father's business empire - he has finally ensured that his place at its summit is assured.The deal Rupert Murdoch's eldest son has struck with his oldest siblings Prudence, Elisabeth and James will mean they give up their shares in the family business, handing Lachlan the long-term control that he and his father craved. Continue reading...
Gordon Brown calls for change to rules as he and other ex-leaders say they do not use allowance for commercial workThree former prime ministers have said they do not use a taxpayer subsidy for their private office for any commercial work after the Guardian revealed Boris Johnson appears have done so.One of them, Gordon Brown, said that rules should now be changed to require former prime ministers to publicly declare their business interests. He said there should be a crackdown on the jobs taken by former ministers. Continue reading...
Campaigners shocked after ministers voted against the 1.2m-hectare Yavari Mirim reserve after 20 years of debateCampaigners have accused the Peruvian government of violating international human rights law and putting lives at risk in the Amazon after it rejected a vast new territory to protect some of the world's most isolated Indigenous communities.After two decades of political debate, a government-led commission voted on Friday against creating the Yavari Mirim Indigenous reserve, a 1.2m-hectare (2.9m-acre) expanse of pristine rainforest along the border with Brazil. The tally was decisive: eight against, five in favour, with three members absent from the crucial vote. Continue reading...
by Tom McIlroy chief political correspondent on (#6ZX0G)
Total amount former Liberal staffer has been ordered to pay is not known but is expected to be in the order of hundreds of thousands of dollarsBrittany Higgins has been ordered to pay 80% of her former boss Linda Reynold's legal costs from their high-profile defamation fight.Last month, Western Australian supreme court judge Paul Tottle ruled the former defence minister's reputation was damaged by a 2022 social media post from Higgins' partner David Sharaz, which Higgins responded to, and an Instagram story published by Higgins in July 2023. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot, Harry Davies and Henry Dyer on (#6ZX1K)
Senior politicians want taxpayer-funded support for former PM suspended, as watchdog opens investigationSenior politicians have called for Boris Johnson's 115,000 taxpayer-funded annual allowance to be suspended after revelations in the Guardian suggested that the former prime minister may have used his private office to profit from contacts he gained in office.The government ethics watchdog, which monitors the activities of former ministers and senior civil servants, has also opened an investigation into Johnson's newly revealed contacts and income since leaving office. Continue reading...
by Tom McIlroy Chief political correspondent on (#6ZWZ2)
Vanuatu's PM says more discussions' needed on Nakamal agreement due to concerns over his nation's ability to seek infrastructure funding from other countries
Case centred on claims that he had not properly served a sentence for corruption and abuse of power, which was handed down in 2023Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve one year in jail, the country's supreme court has ruled, in a major blow to one of the country's most prominent and polarising politicians.The court ruled that Thaksin had not properly served an eight-year sentence for corruption and abuse of power, which was handed down when he returned to the country from self-imposed exile in 2023. After arriving back in the country, Thaksin spent less than 24 hours in jail, but was moved to the VIP wing of a hospital on health grounds, where he stayed for six months before he was released on parole.
After four years on the run with their father, Phillips three children have all been located and are doing well under the circumstances', say authoritiesPolice in New Zealand have released images and given details of the campsite where two of fugitive Tom Phillips' children were found, after their father was shot and killed by police on Monday.Phillips had spent nearly four years hiding in the wilderness with his children. He was killed in an exchange of fire with police after reports of a burglary in the remote town of Piopio. A police officer is recovering in hospital after being shot in the head by Phillips with a high-powered rifle in the standoff. About 11 hours after Phillips was killed, two of his children were found safe and well at the campsite in Waitomo. It is understood the third child was with Phillips at the time of the shooting. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6ZWT1)
All health trusts in England ranked from best to worst but analysts say idea is of limited use' to patientsLabour has published the first football-style league tables to rank hospitals in England from best to worst since the early 2000s, despite warnings it would not help patients choose where to seek care.Moorfields specialist eye hospital in London tops the table, with the Queen Elizabeth hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, bottom. Continue reading...
Format to be tested in last quarter of year after chain's value cut by a third amid intense strains' on hospitality industryPret a Manger is finally caving in to competition from supermarkets by launching meal deals, after the value of the chain was slashed by a third amid intense strains" on the hospitality industry.The sandwich and coffee chain said it intends to test the meal deal format in the last quarter of this year, as a medium-term strategy to grow the Pret brand and return to sustainable profits. It did not say how much the meal deals will cost. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#6ZWT2)
Unions and headteachers say Nando's-style' scorecard is worse than schools watchdog's current regimeEngland's schools watchdog, Ofsted, is to press ahead with the introduction of its new inspection regime in November, including a colour-coded report card for parents, despite widespread opposition from headteachers and unions.An exceptional" judgment will become the highest of five grades to be awarded across six different inspection areas, as first reported in the Guardian last month, as part of the overhaul prompted by the suicide of the Reading headteacher Ruth Perry after a visit by Ofsted. Continue reading...
Union says Amazon is breaking the law' after drivers working for contractor Cornucopia were terminatedAmazon has fired more than 150 unionized drivers working for a third-party contractor in Queens, New York, according to the Teamsters union.Workers rallied at the company's DBK4 facility in Queens on Monday after the company fired the drivers, who worked for Cornucopia, a delivery service provider (DSP) that Amazon contracted with to make deliveries. Amazon works with more than 3,000 DSPs around the world who deliver the company's packages. Continue reading...
by Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent on (#6ZWR8)
Success for party of the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Store, despite increased support for rightwing Progress partyThe Norwegian Labour party has secured four more years in government after seeing off a surge of support for the populist right in a polarised election.Soon after the polls closed, the centre left was projected to win with 89 seats with the centre right taking 80 seats. A minimum of 85 seats are needed for a majority. Continue reading...
Latest projection gives leftwing bloc 91 seats in the next parliament, with the rightwing bloc at 78And over in Brussels, EU diplomats have been briefing journalists that the European Commission is expected to propose a 19th package of sanctions against Russia by Friday, Reuters said.The EU has stepped up its listings and is no longer shying away from larger entities in third countries, and it could list banks in two central Asian countries too, they said. Continue reading...
Compressed timetable and worries about potentially toxic atmosphere narrows field to replace Angela RaynerLouise Haigh: I'm not running for Labour deputy leader. I want the freedom to fight for an economic resetA series of senior female Labour MPs have dropped out of contention to replace Angela Rayner as the party's deputy leader, as a compressed timetable for nominations and worries about a potentially toxic atmosphere narrowed the field.Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is expected to enter the race, where she would be seen as a de facto Downing Street choice, potentially putting her against Emily Thornberry, who would position herself as a voice for backbenchers. Continue reading...
Heathrow Terminal 4 declared safe to reopen hours after reports of hazardous substance prompted evacuationAbout 20 people reported an injury but no trace of any adverse substance was found" after officers were called to Heathrow, the Metropolitan police has said.Terminal 4 check-in was evacuated as a precaution on Monday evening while emergency services responded to a potential hazardous material incident" at the airport, the London Fire Brigade said earlier. Continue reading...
The MP said police should be focusing on people who are members of the group, not those who recklessly express support' for itPaul Nowak, the TUC general secretary, used his speech to conference this morning to say that the TUC expected the government to deliver its workers' rights bill in full". He said employment rights were overwhelmingly popular with voters across the political spectrum".And he condemned Reform UK for its stance on employment rights. After saying that Nigel Farage claimed to represent working class people, he went on:Here's the truth - there is a world of difference between what Nigel says and what Nigel does.Every single Reform MP, including Mr Farage, voted against outlawing fire and rehire, against banning zero hours contracts and against day one rights for millions of workers.Ask yourself this fundamental question. Do you believe in your gut that that Nigel Farage really cares about the people of Clacton when he's off collecting his speaker's fees in the United States?Do you believe that Richard Tice really worries about the people of Skegness while he's living it up at home in Dubai, or are they just rightwing conmen lining their own pockets?I just have to say this. No amount of TikToks, or ozempic, or expensive haircuts, will ever hide the eager inner ugliness of Robert Jenrick.The man who ordered murals painted over in a reception centre for children seeking asylum is indeed a xenophobe, an opportunistic xenophobe hoping to create a political climate that ends up with far right folks laying siege to hotels and black and Asian people being threatened and harassed on our streets.If we look at the powerful geopolitical push factors, they're things like regime change. We think Afghanistan, war, civil conflict. And when we look at people crossing in small boats, where do they come from? Well, the top nationalities: Afghan, Eritrea, Iranian, Syrian, Sudanese - just those five nationalities account for almost two thirds of all small boat arrivals, and these individuals are from some of the most chaotic parts of the world.But there are also some pull factors, and the question is, why not claim asylum in France, why come to the UK? A number of reasons recur there when we speak with asylum seekers. It's the presence of family members, the English language.In those circumstances, typically, flagged upon the system, the UK government would be able to issue a speedy refuse refusal and try and effect removal.As it is, people arrive, we don't have that record, so we don't know who they are. Continue reading...
by Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent on (#6ZW84)
Many demonstrators say they are also on the streets over corruption and nepotism they allege is rampantAt least 19 people have been killed during protests in Nepal over a government ban on dozens of online platforms including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and X.The government has faced mounting criticism after imposing a ban on 26 prominent social media platforms and messaging apps last week because they had missed a deadline to register under new regulations. Continue reading...
First rescuers didn't even know there was a house' at spot where Brian Lyn Davies, 68, was killed in 2023A man was killed when his house disappeared" in a huge explosion after a neighbour noticed a strong smell of gas, an inquest jury has heard.The explosion was so devastating that the first rescuers did not even realise a house had stood on the spot until a few minutes before, the inquest at Swansea Guildhall was told. Continue reading...
People suspected teenagers playing ding dong ditch and called police, who found animal crawling on the door panelInhabitants of an apartment block in Bavaria, southern Germany, who called police to investigate the relentless buzzing of their doorbells late at night were surprised to find the culprit was not a teenage prankster as they had suspected, but a slug.The slug had been sliding up and down the bell plate, creating havoc in the building and tearing angry residents out of their beds long after midnight when they could not sleep for the noise. Continue reading...
The president has claimed any decision against him would destroy' the financial fabric of our country'Donald Trump has upended the global economy, imposing steep tariffs on US allies and rivals, dismissing fears of higher prices, and promising his strategy will yield a new golden age". All the president needs to do now is prove he's allowed to do it.Legal experts say he may face an uphill battle. Continue reading...
Families say they will settle for nothing less' than instant ban on semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazinesSome parents whose children were wounded in the recent deadly school shooting in Minnesota are demanding greater gun safety measures as the divided legislature gets ready to debate the state's response this week.Mothers and fathers have gone public to highlight the acute suffering being endured by their children in the aftermath of last month's attack by a shooter that killed two children and injured 17 others while they were at prayer at the Annunciation Catholic school, traumatizing the community in south Minneapolis. Continue reading...
Heavy rain and powerful winds head for archipelago, while Spain braces for severe thunderstormsHawaii has declared a state of emergency for tropical storm-force winds, heavy rain and high surf as the weakening Hurricane Kiko heads for the archipelago.Kiko began as a depression in the eastern Pacific basin on 31 August, before travelling westward last week and deepening into a category 1 hurricane by Tuesday 2 September as sustained winds exceeded 74mph (119km/h). Continue reading...
Premier says government stands with South Sudanese community in fight against the cancer of youth gang crime' after Cobblebank killingsThe families of two children allegedly murdered in Melbourne's outer west on the weekend are shattered" and the community terrified" as police continue to hunt the perpetrators responsible for the machete killings.It comes as the Victorian premier promised the government would stand with the South Sudanese community in their fight against the cancer of youth gang crime that is breaking their community's heart", announcing she would convene an existing working group. Continue reading...
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