World news | The Guardian

National Rally and allies gain record 14 seats and can form senate group for first time after indirect vote by local officialsThe French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has said her 2027 presidential campaign will be boosted after her anti-immigration party, the National Rally (RN), and its allies improved to a record 14 seats in partial senate elections this weekend.Le Pen called the results a historic victory" and a major milestone" after her party cleared the 10-seat threshold to be able to form a senate group for the first time, after an indirect vote by local officials including mayors and councillors. Continue reading...

Culture secretary criticises Reform leader after he tried to link suspected bomb plot to small boat crossingsNigel Farage has been described as a master of the conspiracy theory" by the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, , after he tried to link events at RAF Fairford to small boat crossings.The Reform UK leader was criticised over his reaction to the arrests of the men on Sunday, when he said he had been warning for months about Iranian agents" coming into the UK across the Channel in small boats. Continue reading...

Counter terror police say earlier that they arrested five men who were British national in their 20s from London

She says a lack of fairness can make people turn inwards'

Mission goes ahead despite some fears an initial engine failure after the Texas launch would scupper the attemptSpaceX has sent its enormous Starship rocket into Earth's orbit for the first time on a milestone flight intended to pave the way for future missions to the moon and Mars.The rocket, the largest and most powerful ever built, blasted off from SpaceX's Starbase launch facility in Texas at 7.48am local time (1.48pm BST), marking its 14th test flight and first attempt to circle the planet before falling back to Earth. Continue reading...

Merseyside force says 82 people arrested and another 79 reported for summons during demonstrationMore than 160 people were arrested or reported for summons at a pro-Palestine demonstration outside the Labour party conference on Sunday, police have said.Officers arrested 82 people on suspicion of wearing or carrying an article supporting a proscribed organisation, according to the Merseyside force. They were taken into police custody before being released on bail. A further 79 people were reported for summons. Continue reading...

Andy Burnham hails nationalisation of much-criticised service between London, Birmingham and GlasgowBritain's biggest intercity rail operator, Avanti West Coast, will be renationalised in spring, ministers have announced, while new trains could also be publicly owned under plans to reduce costs paid to private firms.Avanti, which has been one of the worst rail firms in the country for train delays and cancellations, will come under public ownership from 7 March when its contract ends. Continue reading...

Supermarket chain declares increasing confidence' in its growth plans after posting record annual revenue of 19bn

Woman who spotted suspicious vans and masked men says authorities did not contact her after five men were arrestedA farmer who claims to have alerted the police to a suspected terrorist bomb plot at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire has said she has had no follow-up at all" from the authorities.The woman told reporters on Monday that she did not see herself as a hero for having reported vans blocking a road near the base while on her way back from a party. Continue reading...

World's biggest economies release lists of products in latest move away from trade war - but no strategic goods are includedThe US and China have released reciprocal lists of goods worth about $30bn each on which they plan to cut tariffs, ranging from consumer electronics and agricultural products to artificial flowers and live dolphins.The announcements are the latest tack away from the intense trade war between the world's two largest economies that dominated much of last year, though major strategic products are not included and no timeline has yet been given for the reductions. Continue reading...

EU to push members to cut tax rate below duty on gas, with 10%+ surge in sales also put down to fallout from Iran war

Leak causes outages and low pressure in parts of London and Surrey, affecting 6,000 properties and leaving some without waterSchools, businesses and homes across seven boroughs in England were hit by a Thames Water outage on Monday, from a burst water main reportedly leaking 750 litres a second.About 6,000 properties across five south London boroughs and two Surrey boroughs had no water supply or low pressure, Thames Water said. Continue reading...

The US says it is unable to support a major global text on pandemic prevention and preparedness put forward at UN general assemblyThe United States government's decision to block a major global declaration on pandemic preparedness severely weakens" the effort, and signals intent to disrupt international cooperation, says Prof Lawrence Gostin, a leading expert on global health law from Georgetown University.The United Nations general assembly had been due to adopt a political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response on 25 September after a high-level meeting on the subject. Continue reading...

Chancellor tells Labour conference it's not progressive' to fail to balance books amid rising welfare bill as borrowing costs climb to record high

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve says Israel is not entitled to shut mission in occupied Palestinian territoryIsrael does not have a legal right to act on its plan to close the British consulate in East Jerusalem, the former attorney general Dominic Grieve has advised the UK Foreign Office.Israel has said it intends to shut the consulate on 8 October in response to the sweeping ban on trade with goods from Israeli settlements announced by the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, this month. Continue reading...

River charters part of wider movement establishing moral' framework to protect nature and hold institutions to accountOne Monday morning in spring last year, 12 people gathered in the morning drizzle at Joyce's Pool, one of the sources of the Bristol River Avon, and took the first steps of the inaugural Avon pilgrimage.Over the course of eight days, a revolving cast of pilgrims walked about 100 miles from the source of the river to the point at which it reaches the sea, in some cases bivvying on the riverside at night. Along the way they planted trees, sowed seeds, restored footpaths and presented councillors and decision-makers with a fledgling Avon charter, developed by the Bristol campaign group Conham Bathing. Continue reading...

Jeweller reports flat sales and fall in underlying operating profit as retailers anticipate October budget

Local authorities have closed the beach for several kilometres and multiple sharks have been spotted in the area

Wes Streeting indicates farmer who alerted police and said security forces had dropped the ball' only had a partial picture'UK security services were aware in advance about a group of men arrested in connection to a bomb plot against an RAF base used by the US military, Wes Streeting, the defence secretary, has indicated.Five men were arrested on terrorism charges after armed officers found explosives in three vans parked minutes from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which hosts US air force missions against Iran. Continue reading...

Capital city submerged in waist-high flood water, while elsewhere Hurricane Nolo threatens Hawaii's Big IslandBangkok was declared a disaster zone by its city officials towards the end of last week, after streets in Thailand's capital city were submerged in up to waist-high flood water. The flooding stemmed from an active cell of low pressure across central Thailand that brought continuous heavy rainfall and thunderstorms to Bangkok and surrounding regions.The heavy rain began early on Thursday when the weak area of low pressure travelled north-westwards up the gulf of Thailand before then sitting over central Thailand by Friday morning. For most of the following two days this low pressure remained roughly in situ, which allowed unrelenting downpours over Bangkok and nearby areas. One weather station near Prachin Buri, just north-east of the capital, recorded 213.5mm within a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday evening local time - for comparison, London receives an average 585mm a year). Fortunately, the centre of the low-pressure cell shifted north-westwards on Sunday and brought an end to the torrential rainfall. Continue reading...

The 81-year-old singer will wrap up a touring career that stretches back to his mid-teens in the early 1960s, with dates planned for UK and EuropeRod Stewart has announced that his next tour will be his last.The 81-year-old singer has been touring since the early 1960s, when he set out across Europe with a harmonica - and ended up getting deported from Spain for vagrancy - in a duo with folk singer Wizz Jones. Continue reading...

Renewed fighting between Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni forces has shattered four years of relative calmIn the mornings, 13-year-old Muneer Farie went to school, and in the afternoons he helped his father feed the livestock. He took his studies seriously, dreaming of becoming the first teacher in his family of farmers.As fighting approached his village in al-Wazeyah district in Taiz, Yemen, two weeks ago, Muneer's focus started to drift from his lessons. The classroom echoed with the distant sounds of explosions and gunfire. His home was suddenly on the frontline of renewed fighting between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. Continue reading...

Inquest into 2023 death shown footage of John Makai struggling to stand after suffering serious head injury from being punched in head by son

Former police officer has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in early 2024 - nine months after discussion with friend Georgia Cook

Five men arrested on terrorism charges after explosives found near RAF Fairford in GloucestershireCounter-terrorism police are investigating whether Iran is behind a suspected bomb plot after armed officers found explosives on three vans parked minutes from an RAF base used by the US military.The Guardian understands that after five men were arrested on terrorism charges, investigators were examining materials found in the vans, with an initial view being they were consistent with improvised explosive devices. Continue reading...

Fewer than 400 Eriskay ponies remain. One of the rarest native breeds in the world, their plight is unique because the community living on their tiny Hebridean island are fighting for them. The ponies wander the village and townsfolk care for them togetherOn the slopes of Beinn Sciathan, a rocky outcrop in the Outer Hebrides, white and grey ponies roam freely. Eriskay ponies, one of the rarest native breeds in the world, are critically endangered.They have often been mixed with the Highland pony and other breeds, giving the false impression of higher population numbers. Only about 300 to 400 true Eriskay ponies are thought to remain. Continue reading...

Researcher says sightings of the endangered moth have increased over the last two years but this year has blown them out of the water'

Minns government to spend $47.1m to recommission part of Silverwater jail while PSA says prison alone will not end violent behaviour

Kylie Ellina Truswell-Mobbs, 52, walks out of court after receiving suspended sentence over 2023 death of David Ronald Mobbs

Savers face a dilemma: lock down the deals now or wait, with offers tipped to get even better'Returns on the top fixed-rate savings accounts are at their highest level in years and still climbing, with some now paying up to 5.25%.It leaves those with money to put away facing a choice: lock into some of the best interest rates on offer in several years or hold your nerve in the hope they get even better? Continue reading...

Foreign secretary will tell party's conference we are not here to accept the status quo but to change it'Ed Miliband will tell campaigners and party members who raised the plight of Palestinians they were right that Labour's approach had not been enough, saying he was heeding the calls of millions of people by imposing sanctions on Israeli settlements.The foreign secretary will tell the Labour party conference that the government will take more explicitly progressive foreign policy positions under Andy Burnham, and that the UK will be a leader among like-minded countries in a new age of diplomacy. Continue reading...

Show at Kin Museum in Kiruna marks handover of long-awaited report on abuses committed by the state against the Indigenous peopleFrom a detailed multi-perspectival drawing of reindeer to written accounts of belief systems and childbirth, Johan Turi's work offers unparalleled insight into his life as a Sami person living in northern Sweden at the start of the 20th century.In the face of racist discrimination, land disputes and the spectre of encroaching industry, Turi wanted his 1910 book Muitalus samiid birra (An Account of the Sami) to set the record straight about the lives of Europe's only recognised Indigenous people. Continue reading...

Talks expected on Monday after Sinn Fein leaders join those on streets opposing decision to allow Orange Order parade for first time since 1998Hundreds of protesters spent the day blocking the route of a hugely contentious parade in Northern Ireland after a court gave late-night clearance for the Orange Order to march on a historically significant road for the first time in nearly 30 years.The loyalist Drumcree parade along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown was given the go-ahead by the Parades Commission for the first time since 1998, a decision denounced by Sinn Fein as madness". Continue reading...

Slinger Francisco, who performed as the Mighty Sparrow, died on Sunday surrounded by family in New YorkSlinger Francisco, known on stage as the Mighty Sparrow and dubbed the calypso king of the world", has died aged 91.Francisco, who got his breakthrough in calypso music with his 1956 hit song Jean and Dinah, died peacefully surrounded by his family in New York on Sunday, his family said in a statement. Continue reading...

Polling for rights group shows issue is concern for voters and many feel recent policies have had negative effectFree speech will be a big concern for voters at the next general election, with the government's current approach on the issue perceived by many to be bad for Britain, polling suggests.Three in five people said a political party's position on free speech would affect how they voted at a general election. The human rights organisation Liberty, which commissioned the polling from More in Common, claimed the results showed that Labour's failure to protect free speech could cost it votes. Continue reading...

Local people say members of WhatsApp group noticed suspicious activity around vans in Whelford overnightIn the early hours of Sunday morning, a resident of the village of Whelford was driving home from a party when she saw three white vans parked on a country road. She was immediately suspicious, she said, and all the more so when she spotted a large group of hooded and balaclavaed" men. She called 999 and police arrived on the scene 15 minutes later.The resident, who asked not to be named but reportedly is a local farmer, told the Press Association: It would appear that by doing so I just derailed whatever they [the men] were planning. A plucky amateur shouldn't be spotting an unusual bit of activity at 1am when the airbase is on high alert. I think it's absolutely astonishing." Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dedicated service to support sexual assault victim-survivors as they navigate legal system to open in NSW

Vui not allowed to seek third presidential term and election will test his grip on rule after widespread protestsSerbia's populist president, Aleksandar Vui, has resigned to pursue an attempt to become prime minister in an early parliamentary election that will test his firm rule in the Balkan country after nearly two years of protests.Vui's second presidential term would otherwise end in May next year. He is banned by the constitution from seeking a third term and said he was resigning to lead his rightwing Serbian Progressive party (SNS) in the 25 October ballot. Continue reading...

PM says he is willing to expend political capital to bring in universal service for England funded by everybody'

Thom Tillis says Trump's decision to back Paxton over John Cornyn has put the Senate seat at risk for RepublicansUS senator Thom Tillis on Sunday criticized Donald Trump, his fellow Republican, for the president's support of Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in the Texas Senate Republican primary.He made a colossal mistake," Tillis, a frequent Trump critic from North Carolina, said during an interview on CNN's State of the Union in reference to the president's support of Paxton who defeated Cornyn in the May primary. Continue reading...

Conference delegates grateful ousting Starmer has paid off, but relief tempered by fiscal headwinds ahead

Exclusive: Move by Shabana Mahmood comes after closure of Afghan scheme last year but experts say numbers too small to deter Channel crossings

Work and pensions secretary says the current system is flawed because it consigns too many people to a life on benefits when they would be better off workingI can deliver': Burnham pledges radical change on eve of Labour conferenceKuenssberg puts it to Burnham that, according to the Health Foundation, a system offering adult social care free at the point of delivery (like healthcare delivered by the NHS) would cost 18bn.Burnham says the cost is not that high" (ie, not as high as 18bn).Not that high.But can I directly deal with this issue of the costs?Louise Casey is still doing an official review for us, so I will set out the vision, if you like, on Tuesday [in his speech to the conference].Louise will then help us with the how. How do we make this happen? When can we make it happen? Continue reading...

Governments will be hoping row over the contentious Orange Order march down Garvaghy Road can be defused

Pat McFadden urges Labour MPs to back overhauls, amid signs party looking to cut payments for some 16- to 24-year-olds

Keys crops such as cereals, potatoes, sugar and oils grown in areas with moderate to very high riskThe vast majority of the UK's essential foods, including cereals, potatoes, sugar and oil, are grown in areas of England rated as having a moderate to very high risk of drought.A very high proportion - 81% - of England's fresh produce is concentrated in parts of the country that are already experiencing water stress, according to the analysis by the nature-focused investment fund Rebalance Earth. Continue reading...

Airport chiefs say 2035 operations deadline unachievable as critics say new delay makes case for project even more dubious'Plans for a third runway at Heathrow are once again up in the air after the prime minister refused to say whether he backs the contested" project which is delayed by up to four years.Over the weekend it emerged that Heathrow no longer expects to meet the original 2035 deadline. Instead, the airport hopes to secure planning permission by 2029 and then open the runway within a decade", meaning it would not be operational until 2039. Continue reading...

Pontiff also uses visit to Catholic shrine at Lourdes to criticise assisted dying as false compassion'The pope has called on the Catholic church to heal deep wounds" and painful errors", before a meeting with survivors of child sexual abuse as he continues his four-day visit to France.Addressing a crowd in a large field near the Catholic shrine of Lourdes on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV called on the church to reckon with its past, without directly referencing sexual abuse scandals in France that affected at least 330,000 children over seven decades. Continue reading...

The PM oozes confidence and easy-going charm as he tells Laura Kuenssberg the hill he'll die on is fixing social care

70% vote against tightening centuries-old neutrality, which far right said was being eroded by sanctions against RussiaSwiss voters have decisively rejected a proposal for a strict definition of neutrality that would have required Switzerland to curb cooperation with Nato and abandon sanctions against Russia.All cantons and about 70% of voters rejected the proposal for a strictly defined version of neutrality to be written into the Swiss constitution, final results from the Federal Statistical Office showed. The motion had been promoted by the far-right Swiss People's party (SVP). Continue reading...