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Sexual abuse survivors say working for late former Harrods owner involved deceit, lies and humiliation'A survivor of Mohamed Al Fayed's sexual abuse has given a harrowing account of her suffering at his hands. Speaking at a press conference in London, the woman - named as Natacha - told reporters she walked into a lion's den" when she accepted a job with the former owner of Harrods department store in London.She said working for him had involved a layer of cover-ups, deceit, lies, manipulation, humiliation and gross sexual misconduct". Continue reading...

He acquired prestigious assets but got into plenty of fights, and is now accused of sexual assault by former employeesMohamed Al Fayed, who female former employees accused of sexual assault in a BBC investigation this week, was flamboyant, extrovert and a thorn in the side of the royal family.That today, a year after his death at the age of 94, he is still making headlines reflects a life much mired in controversy. Continue reading...

Ticketmaster and Ticketek claim demand-driven prices mitigate the problem of scalping, when tickets are bought - often by AI bots - and resold at inflated prices

Ukrainian president tells press conference with Ursula von der Leyen that Ukraine plans to use EU loan for air defence, energy and weapons purchasesUkraine's victory plan" in the war against Russia depends on quick decisions being taken by allies this year, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday during a visit by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.Zelenskyy told a joint press conference with von der Leyen that Ukraine planned to use a proposed multi-billion dollar European Union loan for air defence, energy and domestic weapons purchases. Continue reading...

Vladimir Kara-Murza tells Keir Starmer that further exchanges are a matter of life and death'

Officials trying to avoid repeat of Afghan chaos as Israel strikes and foreign secretary tells UK nationals to leave

EU Commission says it will be sending independent observers to the country to investigate allegations of human rights violationsThe European Commission can no longer ignore mounting evidence of the gross human rights violations against migrants and refugees in Tunisia, say MEPs and activists.The EU has given millions of pounds to Tunisia to reduce migration from north Africa into Europe in a deal that pledges respect for human rights" and piqued the interest of the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer. Continue reading...

Observers questioned the paper's due diligence when a freelance writer appeared out of nowhere' in its pagesElon Perry gave the impression he was a mover and a shaker.There are the photos of him alongside Michael Gove - and taking selfies in Downing Street. And there are interviews too. Continue reading...

Chief executive confirms company with contracts for prisons has filed for administration and its sites are closing

Mark Ross pleads guilty to manslaughter of Claudiu-Carol Kondor and will stand trial for murder next yearA man has admitted killing the parcel delivery driver Claudiu-Carol Kondor, who died as he tried to prevent his van from being stolen in Leeds.Mark Ross, 32, pleaded guilty to manslaughter when he appeared at Leeds crown court by video link from prison on Friday but he denied murder and will stand trial on that charge. Continue reading...

Review had criticised support service, run by a trans woman, for not providing women-only spaces for 16 monthsThe chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland has apologised to rape survivors who were let down by failings at the network's support service in Edinburgh.Sandy Brindley said a review had found significant failings" at the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre during the tenure of its chief executive Mridul Wadhwa, who quit this month after being censured over her stance on women-only provision. Continue reading...

Hassan Nasrallah condemns pager and walkie-talkie explosions that killed 37. Plus, how genetics explains picky eatingGood morning.Israel conducted dozens of strikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday night, hours after Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, threatened retribution and punishment" for the unprecedented attacks that blew up pagers and walkie-talkies bought by the group.What has Israel said about the explosions? It has not commented but announced, just hours before Tuesday's pager attacks, that it was broadening its war aims to return Israelis who had been evacuated from the north.Does X still use the tags? No, it now uses a community notes" peer review feature and has weakened its approach to content moderation under Elon Musk's ownership.What limitations are there to the study? It was conducted during the 2020 election, when Trump supports were more against the platform. Since Musk bought the company in 2022 he has brought far-right figures back on to the site, as well as adopting a lax position on moderation. Continue reading...

Troubled company seeks fresh terms and confirms it only has immediate access to about 1.6bnSome of Thames Water's biggest lenders are considering easing repayment terms as the company fights for survival.The step on the road to a potential restructuring comes as the UK's biggest water supplier is scrambling to shore up its finances. It has said it has enough cash to keep its operations running until the end of May next year. Continue reading...

Downing Street said to be concerned by political fallout at moment of extreme tension in Middle East Middle East crisis - latest news updatesDowning Street fears it is to be asked to support the issue of an international criminal court (ICC) arrest warrant for the Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu.Such support would have to be given at a time when it has not proscribed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in the UK. There are concerns among some Foreign Office officials whether the position is politically sustainable. Continue reading...

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

Lionel R, 44, one of 50 men accused, apologises to his victim and tells the court: I have no choice but to accept the facts'One of 50 men accused of raping the French woman Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged by her husband accepted the charges on Thursday, saying he was sorry for what he did.Lionel R, a 44-year-old supermarket worker and father of three, was among dozens of men accused of participating in the mass rape of Pelicot over a decade in a trial that has shocked France. Continue reading...

Unpublished essay linked to author's membership of secret society of mystery writers' to be printed in Strand MagazineAn unpublished essay by the English writer and critic GK Chesterton will be published this week by the Strand Magazine.Under its editor-in-chief, Andrew Gulli, the Strand has recently published unknown stories by Truman Capote, James M Cain and Rod Serling, creator of The Twilight Zone. But the case of the lost Chesterton is different, if appropriately so given its author's famous wit. It turns out the essay, The Historical Detective Story, wasn't lost at all. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Jenny Leong, who apologised after referencing antisemitic cartoon, was subject of human rights commission complaint

Australian Bureau of Statistics also told MP Andrew Leigh not including questions on sexual orientation and gender would do damage'

Party's aim is to build base of local councillors and activists, deputy leader says before conferenceReform UK plans to mimic the Liberal Democrats in building up a national base of councillors and activists to try to expand its support, the party's deputy leader, Richard Tice, has said before its annual conference.While the mood in Birmingham will be celebratory, with Tice joining Nigel Farage as two of the five Reform MPs elected on 4 July, there could also be some internal dissent over a planned new party constitution, with one senior party figure saying it would allow Farage to act as an absolute dictator". Continue reading...

Many remain positive about their high-profile politician but others complain that he got his seat and disappeared'It happened sometime on Monday morning, locals think, though no one seems to know exactly when. But as staff in the shops on Old Road in Clacton stepped out of work for lunch, they spotted that the billboard on the corner of Crossfield Road had been ripped to ribbons.Plenty had approved of the poster, placed there by the political campaign group Led By Donkeys, drawing attention to the huge scale of the local MP Nigel Farage's earnings outside politics. A photo of the billboard posted on X by the group has 24,000 likes. Continue reading...

The ministry of justice has added 55 Indigenous organisations to a list of terrorists and extremists, leading many to leave for Nordic countriesSami people in Russia are being forced to hide their identity and live outside the law" for fear of imprisonment and persecution, leading figures from the community have warned, after the government labelled dozens of Indigenous organisations terrorists and extremists.In July, Russia's ministry of justice added 55 Indigenous organisations to a list of terrorists and extremists, meaning that representatives of the groups - and anyone who takes part, cooperates or communicates with them - risk being sentenced to years in prison. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Documents contain months of warnings about possible Ukrainian advance and also reveal concerns about moraleRussia's military command had anticipated Ukraine's incursion into its Kursk region and had been making plans to prevent it for several months, according to a cache of documents that the Ukrainian army said it had seized from abandoned Russian positions in the region.The disclosure makes the disarray among Russian forces after Ukraine's attack in early August all the more embarrassing. The documents, shared with the Guardian, also reveal Russian concerns about morale in the ranks in Kursk, which intensified after the suicide of a soldier at the front who had reportedly been in a prolonged state of depression due to his service in the Russian army". Continue reading...

Exclusive: government is hoping to avert a potentially damaging row at Labour conferenceTrade union leaders will meet senior ministers on Saturday for crunch talks on the government's workers' rights package, as the government looks to head off a potentially damaging row at Labour conference.General secretaries from the 11 unions affiliated to Labour will meet Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, and Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, on the eve of conference to thrash out details of the package, sources have told the Guardian. Continue reading...

Police say victim, 46, was at home in Hillston, near Griffith, when he was shot in the abdomen by an intruder on Friday morning

On Tuesday, dozens of people were killed when electronic pagers blew up. The next day walkie-talkies exploded. What was the goal of the attacks? William Christou reportsOn Tuesday, William Christou, a journalist reporting from Beirut for the Guardian, began hearing about simultaneous explosions across the city. Then videos began to emerge of small blasts in shops, cars and people's homes. The death toll began to rise. Then came the extraordinary reason: electronic pagers, used by members of Hezbollah to communicate, had blown up, wounding their owners and whoever was nearby.Israel was blamed by its critics and supporters alike and questions multiplied: how could such an attack have been carried out, and why now? Israel and Hezbollah have been trading attacks over the Lebanese border since the beginning of the war on Gaza, but this operation took everyone by surprise. Then came more deadly explosions - this time walkie-talkies blew up. Continue reading...

Hassan Nasrallah decries targeting of pagers and walkie-talkies that killed 37, including children, and hurt thousandsIsraeli warplanes carried out dozens of strikes across southern Lebanon late on Thursday, hours after Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader, threatened tough retribution and just punishment" for the wave of attacks that targeted the organisation with explosives hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies.The Israeli military said it had hit hundreds of rocket launchers which it said were about to be used in the immediate future". Continue reading...

This blog has now closed. You can read our latest story hereIn our First Edition newsletter today, my colleague Heather Stewart has spoken to our defence and security editor Dan Sabbagh. Here is a snippet:Targeting Hezbollah directly is not new: Benjamin Netanyahu's government claimed to have killed a Hezbollah leader in an airstrike on Beirut in July, for example. But the widespread and indiscriminate nature of Tuesday's blasts represented a significant escalation.Sign up here for our free daily newsletter, First Edition Continue reading...

The measure - part of Raneem's Law' - will speed up referral of domestic and sexual abuse victims to support servicesDomestic abuse specialists will be embedded in 999 control rooms from early next year in the first step towards the government's goal of halving violence against women and girls in a decade, the home secretary has said.The advisers will make risk assessments on cases involving rape, domestic and sexual abuse claims to ensure that victims are referred to support services as quickly as possible, as part of an initiative to be announced by Yvette Cooper on Friday. Continue reading...

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, 33, has been dropped by his current club after court appearance in connection with drug-smuggling attemptProfessional footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been sacked by his club after being charged in connection with an attempt to smuggle 600,000 of cannabis through Stansted airport.The 33-year-old striker, who played for Scottish Championship side Greenock Morton, was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers on Wednesday morning in Gourock, Inverclyde. Continue reading...

Most applicants who feel forced to use 10-year immigration route are people of colour, data analysis showsA long and expensive visa route for immigrants has been called racist after analysis showed most applicants who feel forced to go through it are people of colour.The 10-year route" visa is used by hundreds of thousands of people who are not eligible for other immigration schemes because of a lack of income or professional qualifications. Many work in low-paid jobs, such as cleaning or care work. Other common routes to settlement in the UK take five years. Continue reading...

Man, 26, who has not yet been identified, died in Stockton-on-Tees on ThursdayFive people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man was stabbed to death on Teesside.The 26-year-old man died on Hills Drive in Stockton-on-Tees after a stabbing about midnight on Thursday, Cleveland police said. Continue reading...

French Caribbean island sees scenes of vehicles engulfed in flames and gutted buildings as officials impose curfewOfficials in the French Caribbean island of Martinique have imposed a 9pm to 5am curfew in parts of its capital to quell escalating violent protests over the high cost of living.According to Radio France International (RFI), at least 14 people, including 11 police, have been injured - some by firearms - as alarming scenes on social media showed vehicles engulfed in flames, gutted buildings and heavily geared riot police marching towards the protests. Continue reading...

Reports that sabotaged pagers and walkie-talkies were made by Israeli front company with links to Europe

Cabinet ministers rally around chief of staff as Keir Starmer insists he is in control of No 10 Why is Sue Gray at the centre of a new political storm?Cabinet ministers have begun rallying around the Downing Street chief of staff, Sue Gray, saying the briefing against her is appalling" and risks undermining the whole government.In attempt to put an end to a series of damaging rows, Keir Starmer denied he had lost grip of his team and insisted he was completely in control" of his No 10 operation. Continue reading...

Actor who played dastardly Don Brennan in ITV soap is remembered by family as restless, adventurous and funny'Geoff Hinsliff, the former Coronation Street star, has died aged 87 after a short illness.Hinsliff, who also had minor roles in the films O Lucky Man and I, Claudius and played a wireless operator in Richard Attenborough's epic A Bridge Too Far, won the role of Don Brennan on the soap after previously appearing in one episode a decade earlier, in 1977, as a minor character named Eric Baile. Continue reading...

Serco says it is working to fit electronic devices, which were a condition of early release of 1,700 last weekPrisoners freed early to ease overcrowding in jails have not been fitted with electronic tags despite it being a condition of their release, prompting criticism from a parliamentary watchdog.Officials have declined to say how many of 1,700 prisoners in England and Wales who were allowed out after serving 40% of their sentences last week were not given tracking devices. It is understood to be hundreds" rather than dozens", said a source. Continue reading...

South Asian string instruments such as the dilruba and sarangi will get eight grade syllabus and exam systemA music examination in Sikh sacred music, thought to be the first of its kind, will launch in the UK this week in a move described as an important step" in diversifying music education.The examination, introduced by the Music Teachers' Board (MTB) on Friday, will see the music known as Kirtan become part of the universal eight grade examination system. Continue reading...

MPs demand forensic' look at Labour's plans to protect football pyramid in light of Premier League hospitalityKeir Starmer is facing questions about whether his 35,000 of free tickets from football clubs risks a conflict of interest as his government prepares to bring in a new regulator opposed by the industry.The prime minister has been under scrutiny for days over his more than 100,000 of freebies and gifts over the last parliament, with another 8,000-plus due to be registered for the free use of a hospitality box at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. Continue reading...

PM defends decision to accept corporate hospitality but dodges question about who paid for his glassesA reader asks:Can you please obtain clarity from a Labour spokesperson, or even an expert in the English language or linguistics, as to the meaning of lean into hope'? Baffling! Continue reading...

Insiders question Reform UK leader's claim that parliamentary security team advised against in-person meetingsNigel Farage has said he received official parliamentary advice against holding in-person surgeries for his constituents - though his claim was immediately called into question by insiders.On Thursday the Reform UK leader, who became the MP for Clacton in Essex in July, said he had been advised not to hold the physical weekly meetings that are a staple for most MPs, citing fears the public would flow through the door with knives in their pockets". Continue reading...

Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada celebrate idiosyncrasy, while Ian Griffiths foregrounds mathematical tailoringA Prada show is never a straightforward beauty pageant, so when the co-designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons go out of their way to be contrary and challenging, the result is, frankly, pretty weird.Thick woollen tights with belt loops. A boob tube with snap pockets on the nipples. Shoes that peel back at the heels like curls of butter. In the cavernous concrete of Prada's Milanese headquarters, the catwalk was twisted into hairpin bends, so that the audience couldn't see what was coming next. Each outfit was crazier than the last. A strapless lemon ballgown with sunglasses the size of a gas mask was followed by black jeans tucked into dirty white cowboy boots. Continue reading...

Concerns over deepening military cooperation between Russia and North Korea over war in UkraineEuropean Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will travel to Kyiv on Friday and meet president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, as the bloc seeks to help Ukraine weather Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure.I will be travelling to Kyiv to discuss these matters in person with president Zelenskiy tomorrow in our efforts to help Ukraine," von der Leyen told a press conference in Brussels on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). Continue reading...

Judges ruled investigation into then-MP that found he repeatedly engaged in improper lobbying was fairThe European court of human rights has dismissed an appeal by the former MP Owen Paterson against the parliamentary report that preceded his political downfall.Paterson, a former environment secretary and influential pro-Brexit Conservative, resigned as an MP in 2021 after an investigation by the parliamentary commissioner for standards established that he had repeatedly engaged in improper lobbying. Continue reading...

Annual profits near 1bn as chain's international expansion boosts sales Business live - latest updatesNext has said international tastes in fashion are converging" as tech platforms expose consumers to global trends, boosting the retailer's overseas sales and helping it close in on 1bn in annual profits for the first time.The fashion and homeware retailer forecast its annual profits would be 15m more than previously expected, at 995m - up from the 918m recorded in 2023 - after overseas sales rose by 23% in the six months to July, offsetting a near 1% decline in sales of Next-branded clothing in the UK. Continue reading...

Hassan Nasrallah due to give televised speech, as US warns all sides in Middle East against escalation of any kind'

Union members frustrated' that company was allegedly unwilling to discuss wages and pensions in negotiationsUnion officials have accused Boeing of being unprepared" after talks resumed to end the US's largest strike.Boeing workers will be joined on picket lines by the president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), Brian Bryant on Thursday a day after the company announced plans to furlough large numbers" of employees. Continue reading...

Shift supervisors unable to unionize are left in limbo, despite workers claiming low pay and lack of authorityThe largest cannabis delivery service in the US faces a growing backlash in southern California from shift supervisors who said they are paid less than the workers they supervise, struggle to make ends meet on low and stagnant wages, and are at odds with the company over their right to form a union.Nearly 600 delivery drivers at Eaze in California voted to unionize in 2023 with the United Food and Commercial Workers, and secured a first contract earlier this year after threatening to strike in April. Continue reading...

London police force looking into possible misconduct relating to complaint by one of victims of Carl CooperFour Metropolitan police officers are facing a misconduct investigation after two women were murdered by a man they both reported to the police for domestic abuse.Carl Cooper, 66, is serving a life sentence for the murders of Naomi Hunte, 41, and Fiona Holm, 48, after his conviction earlier this year. Continue reading...