World news | The Guardian

Party says it is redrawing the map after overturning large Tory majorities in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire

Judge denies Alexander Csergo bail during hearing at Sydney's Downing Centre on Friday

McNamara MP Josh Burns says Palestinians are not being collectively punished' as Ed Husic argued earlier this week. Follow the day's news live

Senior official vows assault will eliminate Hamas from the roots ... everything should go away'

Actor Kulvinder Ghir speaks of cultural value of British Asian screenplays, especially history seriesKulvinder Ghir, one of the stars of the award-winning Goodness Gracious Me, has said more needs to be done to improve Asian representation on television and in film, 25 years on from the comedy show's first broadcast.The BBC sketch show, which aired between 1998 and 2001, is seen as having been instrumental in changing perceptions of the south Asian community in the UK, challenging racism and paving the way for its stars, who included Sanjeev Bhaskar, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia. Continue reading...

Government also presses for removal of imposts on wine ahead of Anthony Albanese's visit to Beijing next month

Exclusive: Government fast-tracked applications of canoeist, wrestler and water polo player backed by AOC

Former refugee says scheme could help people with family connections to Britain and those in need of medical aidAlf Dubs, the veteran Labour peer and former child refugee, has called for the creation of a resettlement scheme for Palestinians with family connections to Britain and those in need of medical aid.The peer, who came to Britain from Austria as a child fleeing the Nazis, also spoke of his concerns about rising antisemitism and Islamophobia against the backdrop of the crisis in Israel and Gaza. Continue reading...

Fighting intensifies in South Kordofan state and also threatens Gezira state, to where hundreds of thousands of people have fledFighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has spread south of Khartoum towards Gezira state, endangering the lives of thousands of people who have fled there from the capital.The conflict is also intensifying in , where a large rebel force, the SPLMN, that mobilised in June, has been relentlessly attacking army barracks, and in Darfur, where Arab militias backed by or affiliated to the RSF have been accused of conducting a brutal campaign of ethnic violence. Continue reading...

Czech PM calls on western capitals not to fall for Russian leader's tactic to break European unityEuropean leaders must not fall" for the tactics of Vladimir Putin, the Czech president, Petr Pavel, has said, two days after Hungary's prime minister shook hands with Russia's leader.Viktor Orban, in a rare move for the leader of a country that belongs to the EU and Nato, met Putin in Beijing on Tuesday for what the Hungarian leader's office described as a discussion on energy cooperation and peace. Continue reading...

Pentagon report also says Beijing is intensifying pressure on neighbours to push back on US efforts to contain itA Pentagon report on China's military power says Beijing is exceeding previous projections of how quickly it is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal and is almost certainly" learning lessons from Russia's war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like.The report released on Thursday also warns that China may be pursuing a new intercontinental missile system using conventional arms that, if fielded, would allow Beijing to threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States, Hawaii and Alaska." Continue reading...

Spokesman for musician says allegations are baseless and absurd' and Elfman will vigorously defend these claims in court'A second woman has filed a lawsuit against the award-winning composer Danny Elfman, accusing him of taking advantage of his power in the industry to strip naked in front of her on numerous occasions and masturbate while she lay sleeping next to him.The suit, filed in Los Angeles superior court on Wednesday, comes three months after it was revealed that Elfman was previously accused of similar behavior in a different lawsuit and agreed to pay $830,000 in compensation under a legal settlement. Continue reading...

YouTube star Augusto Deoliveira - who also cancelled trips to the UK and Italy - stands by his tough approach to training canines

MPs overwhelmingly back move in initial vote, despite church claim it has cut ties with MoscowThe Ukrainian parliament gave initial approval on Thursday to a law that would ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church after Kyiv accused it of collaborating with Russia following last year's invasion.The UOC, which says it no longer aligned with the Russian Orthodox Church, denies the charges levelled at it by Kyiv and said the draft law would be unconstitutional. Continue reading...

Apra Amcos boss calls for tax incentives to revive the sector, after report reveals number of venues for small to medium gigs shrank by a third over three years

Sag-Aftra's advice is to eschew characters played by real people and instead take inspiration from animated TV shows not in its remitSpiders are in but Spider-Man is out, after the US actors' union Sag-Aftra warned its members that dressing up as their favourite film or television characters this Halloween could break strike rules.Now into its fourth month, the actors' strike shows no sign of resolution, after talks broke down again between Sag-Aftra and the body representing studios, networks and streaming services, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), on 11 October. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. You can find the latest updates here.Egypt and Jordan flank Israel on opposite sides and share borders with Gaza and the occupied West Bank, respectively. Both have have been reticent to allow displaced Palestinians in.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi made his toughest remarks yet on Wednesday, saying the current war was not just aimed at fighting Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, but also an attempt to push the civilian inhabitants to ... migrate to Egypt." He warned this could wreck peace in the region. Continue reading...

Budgets under pressure like never before' due to inflation and rising demand for social care, with deep cuts to services likelyMany more councils in England are at risk of bankruptcy, town hall leaders have warned, as unprecedented financial pressures force local authorities to prepare drastic cuts to services to cope with a collective 4bn deficit.The bleak message, set out in a letter to the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, said council budgets were under pressure like never before" because of the rapid deterioration in their finances caused by inflation and soaring demand for social care. Continue reading...

Country forced to reduce diplomatic presence amid tensions over Sikh separatist killing and says it will not take retaliatory stepsCanada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid a dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist, announced foreign minister Melanie Joly, adding that Ottawa would not take retaliatory steps.New Delhi last month asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence after prime minister Justin Trudeau said there was credible evidence of a potential link between Indian agents and the murder in June of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, who was shot outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia. Continue reading...

Results will be seen as a verdict on Rishi Sunak if Tories lose seats where they had large majoritiesPolls have closed in the Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth byelections, seen as crucial in gauging the electoral fate of Rishi Sunak but difficult to predict.The Conservatives are defending majorities of nearly 25,000 in Mid Bedfordshire and close to 20,000 in Tamworth, which would normally point to an easy hold. However, their chances will be hampered by the party's dismal poll ratings and the records of departing MPs. Continue reading...

Authorities say thousands of people dispatched by North Korea to work for US companies fed millions of dollars to missile programThousands of information technology workers contracting with US companies have for years secretly sent millions of dollars of their wages to North Korea for use in its ballistic missile program, FBI and Department of Justice officials said.The justice department said Wednesday that IT workers dispatched and contracted by North Korea to work remotely with companies in St Louis and elsewhere in the US have been using false identities to get the jobs. The money they earned was funneled to the North Korean weapons program, FBI leaders said at a news conference in St Louis. Continue reading...

British PM flew to Saudi Arabia after Netanyahu stressed Israel's need for continuous' UK support in war with Hamas

Police Scotland say 57-year-old's body recovered from River Esk after reports of someone being swept awayThe body of a 57-year-old woman has been recovered from a river in Angus, Police Scotland have said, as hundreds of people were ordered to evacuate their homes in a town in the east of the country because of fears that the River Esk will burst its banks during Storm Babet.A Police Scotland spokesperson said: Around 1.45pm on Thursday October 19, officers attended a report of a person having been swept into the Water of Lee, Glen Esk. Continue reading...

Sayeeda Warsi criticises party for strongly advising its councillors not to attend pro-Palestine-related demonstrationsA senior Conservative peer has warned the Labour party not to join a race to the bottom over Israel-Hamas war protests as a council leader urged Keir Starmer to show sympathy to the plight of Palestinians".Sayeeda Warsi criticised Labour for strongly advising its councillors not to attend pro-Palestine demonstrations last weekend, despite having spent months before the recess fighting the government to protect the right to protest in the public order act". Continue reading...

Israel defence minister tells troops they will soon see Gaza from the inside'; UK PM stresses importance of allowing aid into Gaza

Suzan Holder says her husband was initially given six months to live but he is feeling good and looking great'Noddy Holder, the frontman of Slade, was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer five years ago, his wife has revealed.Doctors told Holder that he had six months to live, Suzan Holder wrote in Cheshire Life magazine on Thursday, but she said Holder, 77, had responded well to experimental chemotherapy and coped with amazing good humour and breath-taking bravery". Continue reading...

Twenty trucks preparing to enter Gaza through Rafah crossing, but Israel says aid will halt if seized by Hamas

The US response to 9/11 was dogged by a threat posed by an ill-defined enemy, which led to human rights abuses associated with Guantanamo

Protesters in Washington demand ceasefire, marking rift in community as Anti-Defamation League condemns demonstration

German chancellor criticises Russian president over his apparent concern for civilian casualties in the Middle EastRussian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his visit to Pyongyang, the Russian foreign ministry said on Thursday.The ministry did not provide any details of the meeting, which, according to state-run Tass news agency, lasted just over an hour.Likewise the Russian Federation extends its complete support and solidarity with the aspirations of the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea]. Continue reading...

Backing of 90% of members across 14 firms gives leverage for improved offer, says union leader, Mick LynchRail workers at English train operating companies have voted overwhelming for another six months of potential strikes, the RMT union announced.More than 20,000 union members were balloted across the 14 companies contracted to the Department for Transport, with 90% voting to give the union a continued mandate for strikes, on a 64% turnout. Continue reading...

Formal terms of reference for inquiry announced including whether trust was sufficiently candid with parentsThe inquiry into how Lucy Letby was able to murder seven babies will look into the direct experiences of parents, the conduct of other staff at the Countess of Chester hospital and the wider effectiveness of NHS governance, the Department of Health has said.Announcing the formal terms of reference for the inquiry, the government listed 30 questions to be considered within the three broad categories, including whether there were proper whistleblowing procedures and whether the NHS trust was sufficiently candid" with parents. Continue reading...

The star also opens up about the controversial conservatorship that she endured until 2021, allegations of drug use and her relationship with Justin TimberlakeBritney Spears has revealed more details about her breakdown in 2007 and 2008 in her forthcoming memoir The Woman in Me.Spears writes that during several of her public episodes - including shaving her head and attacking a paparazzo's car - she was suffering from postnatal depression, grief after the death of her aunt and a custody battle with her ex-husband Kevin Federline. Continue reading...

Just Stop Oil protesters block causeway and briefly halt coach carrying men to vessel in Portland port

Formerly safe Tory seats in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth could fall to opponents in test of Sunak's electoral fortunesNext month's state opening of parliament, one of the set-piece events in the UK political calendar, could face serious disruption after House of Commons security staff announced they would strike to coincide with it.The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), which represents 250 parliamentary security staff who announced initial plans for a strike earlier this months, said any delays or queues on 7 November, when King Charles will deliver his first speech to parliament as monarch, would be the fault of management.Could we have a debate on the reporting of the conflicts in the media between Israel and Hamas so that we can hold to account those media outlets that chose to rush to blame Israel for the hospital tragedy without having a sound evidential basis.Accurate reporting is crucial, failing to deliver that makes the situation worse, could cost lives and fuel hatred and antisemitism back here in the UK.There are two issues here. One is the Ofcom code and certain broadcasters' adherence to it. In the guidance for that code it says broadcasters should have regard to the list of proscribed terror groups or organisations in the UK', and that is incredibly important.But I also think it is critical that reporters - sometimes stationed in very stressful environments - need to be reporting facts as facts and those things that are not facts, that have not been verified or are lines to take from terrorist organisations should not be treated as facts. I think that's very important. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Bill to be brought for third reading but some Tories say it could heighten community tensions

Thirteen-year-old black boy carrying blue-and-white water pistol was confronted by armed officers who pointed guns at him in JulyThe 13-year-old black boy rammed off his bike after police mistook his water pistol for a real gun is still suffering from nightmares three months later, his trauma counsellor has said.The incident - which happened in July in Hackney, east London - has led to an apology from the Metropolitan police, with the embattled force accepting the boy suffered trauma after being confronted by armed officers who pointed their weapons at him, handcuffed and arrested him. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closedSimon Berthoud, head of communication at Climate Alliance Switzerland, a group representing 140 NGOs in Switzerland, says that the Swiss People's Party (SVP) is already very strong in Switzerland, but its strengthening would be even more catastrophic for climate policy in the coming years."Even if the SVP's very high score doesn't materialize, it will very likely remain Switzerland's leading party. So, whatever the outcome, we'll need to continue organising in our neighborhoods, schools and workplaces, and use the other tools of direct democracy to get Switzerland moving on climate issues." Continue reading...

BBC defends initial comments, saying they were made in immediate aftermath but were then clarified in later reportsThe Israeli government has accused the BBC of perpetuating a modern blood libel" in its reporting of the catastrophic explosion at al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza.In the immediate aftermath of the incident on Tuesday evening, a BBC reporter said there was a lack of clarity but suggested that Israel was likely to be at fault. Continue reading...

Former military lawyer's legal team warns public has made its disapproval of the continued prosecution abundantly clear'

Endorsement of British American Tobacco by Climate Active was revoked after complaint was made, FoI documents show

First Flamm festival in old mining town this weekend will include art rave' and installations using local natural materialsIn the 18th and 19th centuries, copper mining turned Redruth into a wealthy, bustling hub.But in more recent times the Cornish town has suffered the trials and tribulations of post-industrial decline. Continue reading...

One prison has reported using absolute last resort' regime for inmates on 15 occasions this yearPrisons in England have run emergency red regimes" 22 times this year, after falling below minimum staffing levels, the Guardian has learned. One prison reported using the most restricted level of regime for inmates - traditionally an absolute last resort" - on 15 occasions.A red regime", described by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) as not a sustainable position", is reserved for periods when staff resources have fallen below the locally agreed minimum and only a basic regime can be achieved. Continue reading...

Beyonce and Neil Young rights owner says it is not exploring sale despite financial woes

At an event in Baltimore promoting Pinkett Smith's new memoir Worthy, the actor described their tumultuous relationship as brutal and beautiful'Will Smith has made an emotional speech in support of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith at a promotional event for her new memoir Worthy, describing their marriage as a sloppy public experiment in unconditional love".In remarks reported by the Baltimore Sun, Smith said: I just really wanted to come out and just be here and hold it down for you the way you have held it down for me ... We have had a very, very long and tumultuous [relationship]. We call it brutiful'... brutal and beautiful at the same time." Continue reading...

Court papers say FremantleMedia was aware of explicit comments about two contestants when it offered comedian new contractDavid Walliams was offered a new contract on Britain's Got Talent despite the show's production company being aware of derogatory and sexually explicit remarks he made about two contestants, according to court documents.Walliams, 52, announced he was leaving Britain's Got Talent in November 2022 after the Guardian revealed that he had been recorded during the recording of a 2020 episode. Continue reading...

Liberal National party withdraws support for treaty days after Queensland overwhelmingly votes to reject voice to parliament

This blog is now closed.

Sussan Ley's comments come after Labor MPs including Ed Husic and Anne Aly break ranks to condemn Israel's blockade on Gaza

Sergei Lavrov praises Kim Jong-un for unambiguous support' for Ukraine war on visit that could pave way for summit with Vladimir PutinRussia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Moscow's relations with North Korea have reached a new level", as concern grows over deepening military ties between the two countries amid the war in Ukraine.Speaking on Thursday in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, Lavrov hailed last month's summit in Russia's far east between Vladimir Putin and the North's leader, Kim Jong-un, as evidence that bilateral ties were at a qualitatively new, strategic level". Continue reading...