World news | The Guardian

Samuels Library set to close on 1 October after far-right community members claimed LGBTQ+ books were pornographicA public county library in Virginia is at risk of shutting down after a group of far-right community members launched a campaign to defund it on accusations it held pornographic books" though in fact the works usually just explore LGBTQ+ themes.Samuels Library in Front Royal's Warren county is set to close on 1 October as public funding has been withheld by the Warren county board of supervisors since July, cutting off crucial financial support. Continue reading...

Labour demands urgent audit of government's handling of longstanding concerns about RaacEngland's growing buildings crisis could expand beyond schools to other public buildings such as hospitals and courts, experts have said.More than 100 schools were forced to partially or fully close this week after a dramatic escalation of the government's approach towards crumbling concrete. Continue reading...

More than 36,000 raised to support low-income black writers in memory of award-winning poet who went missingThe family of the award-winning poet Gboyega Odubanjo have raised more than 36,000 to help launch a foundation in his memory.Odubanjo went missing at a music festival last week, and officers investigating his disappearance found a body on Thursday. Continue reading...

Newsreader's older brothers were both affected, unable to access healthcare or benefits or get a passportThe BBC presenter Clive Myrie has said he felt angry and ashamed" of the UK after the Windrush scandal, which affected two of his brothers.The foreign correspondent and newsreader, whose parents moved to Bolton from Jamaica in the early 1960s, reveals the impact of the government's hostile environment policy" in his upcoming memoir. Continue reading...

Storm hit overnight as business, transport and schools suspended in Hong Kong and GuangdongTyphoon Saola has made landfall in southern China after nearly 900,000 people were moved to safety and most of Hong Kong and other parts of coastal southern China suspended business, transport and schools.Guangdong province's meteorological bureau said the powerful storm churned into an outlying district of the city of Zhuhai, just south of Hong Kong at 3.30am local time. It was forecast to move in a south-westerly direction along the Guangdong coast at a speed of about 10mph (17km/h), gradually weakening before heading out to sea. Continue reading...

Police accused of playing fast and loose' with New Yorkers' rights to due process and to freely hold peaceful gatheringsNew York City police plan to monitor large gatherings and noise complaints over Labor Day weekend with surveillance drones, officials have announced, prompting outcry from privacy advocates.Police said Thursday that the remote-controlled aircrafts would be deployed to keep tabs on large gatherings, including private events, as New Yorkers prepared to celebrate the weekend heading into Monday's holiday. Continue reading...

Nine months after Kenneth Smith's botched lethal injection, state attorney general has asked for approval to kill him with nitrogenKenneth Smith is one of two living Americans who can describe what it is like to survive an execution, having endured an aborted lethal injection last November during which he was subjected to excruciating pain tantamount, his lawyers claim, to torture.Nine months later Smith has been singled out for another undesirable distinction. If the state of Alabama has its way, he will become the test dummy for an execution method that has never before been used in judicial killings and which veterinarians consider unacceptable as a form of euthanasia for animals - death by nitrogen gas. Continue reading...

Egyptian businessman and self-made billionaire dies almost 26 years to the day after his son was killed in Paris car crashMohamed Al Fayed, the Egyptian-born businessman who owned the department store Harrods, has died aged 94.His death comes almost 26 years to the day after the car crash in Paris that killed his eldest son, Dodi, and Diana, Princess of Wales, on 31 August 1997. Continue reading...

Woman, 24, and her brother, 15, died after their Toyota Echo was hit by a Mercedes in Heckenberg smash

Man and woman held on suspicion of murder of 49-year-old Bournemouth man found in BoscombeTwo people have been arrested on suspicion of murder after partial human remains were found in Boscombe, Dorset police said.The victim had been identified as a 49-year-old man from Bournemouth and his family had been informed, the force said. Continue reading...

Aditya-L1 is to observe sun's outermost layers and will be first vessel by any Asian nation to be placed in orbit around sunThe latest mission in India's ambitious space program has blasted off on a voyage towards the centre of the solar system, a week after the country's successful unmanned moon landing.Aditya-L1 launched shortly before midday, with a live broadcast showing hundreds of spectators cheering wildly against the deafening noise of the rocket's ascent. Continue reading...

SNP hopes Believe in Scotland march will boost morale after weeks of gloomy headlinesHumza Yousaf is hoping for sunshine. In chatty video clips that have circulated on social media this week, the first minister extends a personal invitation to SNP members and the wider yes movement to attend this Saturday's Believe in Scotland march and rally for independence. And he assures them that whatever the weather, nothing can dampen our enthusiasm and determination".It signals a distinct change in emphasis from his predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, who rarely attended marches like this one, according to the veteran independence campaigner Lesley Riddoch. By contrast, Yousaf has the top speaker billing at the rally. Continue reading...

Friends and foes of Brazil's former president believe it is only a matter of time before he is detainedBrazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, has never shown much sympathy for prisoners.Why should we give those dirtbags a good life? ... They should just get fucked, full-fucking-stop. That's what I reckon," he once ranted. Continue reading...

Announcement comes as concerns grow in west over Pacific nation's ties with ChinaAustralian police will stay in Solomon Islands to provide security for a regional sporting event in November and national elections in 2024, the Pacific Island nation's government has said.The number of officers will increase before November's Pacific Games, when 5,000 athletes from two dozen nations are expected to arrive, according to a statement on Solomon Islands Broadcasting's Facebook page posted late on Friday. Continue reading...

Consultation will consider age restrictions on certain cosmetic treatments as well as a licensing schemeA government consultation has been launched to explore how Botox and other non-surgical cosmetic treatments can be made safer amid concerns around unscrupulous practitioners.An estimated 900,000 botulinum toxin injections are carried out in the UK each year, and Save Face - a government-approved register of accredited practitioners - received almost 3,000 complaints in 2022, with more than two-thirds of those relating to dermal fillers and almost a quarter relating to Botox. Continue reading...

Survey released as HSBC becomes latest lender to increase maximum home loan term to 40 yearsA third of those with a mortgage do not think they will pay it off by the time they are 65, according to data this week. It coincided with HSBC becoming the latest big lender to increase its maximum mortgage term to 40 years.The chaos in the home loans market has resulted in millions of people in the UK being hit with or facing dramatically higher costs - prompting many to look at stretching their mortgage term in order to bring down their monthly payments. Continue reading...

Suspended presenter remains silent over partly withdrawn claims he paid a young person for explicit images but still faces internal inquiryLast September, Huw Edwards sprinted out of a barbershop near his south London home after being summoned to the BBC's headquarters so he could announce Queen Elizabeth's death to the nation.Now the BBC is weighing up whether it can ever reuse footage of Edwards's historic royal broadcast, with the presenter still suspended in the wake of the Sun's partly-retracted allegation that he paid a 17-year-old for explicit images. Continue reading...

Concern over public health fuelled by studies linking UPF to raised blood pressure, heart attacks and strokesHealth experts have ramped up calls to improve the national diet in the wake of research that paints a worrying picture of the harms linked to the consumption of ultra-processed food (UPF).Doctors, scientists and dieticians say a wide-ranging and comprehensive effort is needed to boost public health, with strategies to combat the aggressive marketing of UPF, remove the food industry's influence over policymaking and make sure healthy foods are affordable, accessible and enjoyable.Group one foods are minimally processed or unprocessed such as whole fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and fish.Group two foods are processed ingredients such as salt, sugar and oils.Group three covers processed foods such as tinned fruit and vegetables.Group four are the ultra-processed foods: sweet and savoury snacks, ready meals, soft drinks and other items that often have little if any intact food from group one. On average, UPF makes up half of the UK diet. Continue reading...

Unions say bonus payments, revealed to the ASX on Friday, reward management for short-term thinking and cost cutting'

White House spokesman John Kirby also said reports quoting anonymous US officials criticising Ukrainian effort were not helpful'

Indigenous faculty members say the leadership of Australia's oldest university could have been much braver'

New report shows housing affordability has reached its lowest levels in decades as market continues to rebound

Russia destroys boat trying to attack Crimea bridge, Moscow claims; US poised to send Kyiv munitions containing depleted uranium, reports say

Editor of Novaya Gazeta accused of using foreign platforms to spread opinions aimed at forming a negative attitude towards Russia'Russia has added respected journalist and Nobel prize co-recipient Dmitry Muratov to its list of foreign agents, a label authorities commonly use to stifle critics.The move targeting the editor of Russia's top independent publication, Novaya Gazeta, is part of a wider crackdown on respected civil society institutions that has accelerated with Moscow's assault on Ukraine. Continue reading...

Police say accused was called in as a cleaner' by another man who has been charged with drug dealer's murder

New campaign supported by Greenpeace urges Surf Life Saving WA to scrap $5m naming rights deal

Antoinette Sandbach struggling with difficult history' after initially threatening to sue University of Cambridge over academic's researchA former Conservative MP has apologised for the acts of my ancestors" after an academic named her as a descendant of a merchant with links to the slave trade.On Thursday, Antoinette Sandbach had threatened to sue the University of Cambridge over an online TED Talk given by Malik Al Nasir. On Friday she said she had raised the matter with the university over concerns for her personal safety, but that she did not object to being linked to a history that is absolutely there". Continue reading...

Ta'Kiya Young, 21, pronounced dead shortly after Blendon township shooting, in which unborn daughter did not surviveAuthorities in Ohio on Friday released police body-camera video showing the fatal police shooting of Ta'Kiya Young, a young Black woman who was pregnant. Young's family had seen the video, the family's lawyer said.The footage showed Young slowly accelerating toward an officer in her path as he yelled for her to stop before firing the single bullet that ended her life. Continue reading...

Labour calls for audit of handling of longstanding safety fears as government pledges to fund repairs expected to cost at least 100mHeadteachers are racing to find temporary classrooms for thousands of children amid a growing building safety crisis that has left ministers under pressure to explain why they were slow to shut buildings in more than 100 schools.With the new academic year due to start next week, Labour demanded an urgent audit of the government's handling of longstanding safety fears about aerated concrete found in the roofs, floors and walls of hundreds of schools, hospitals and other public buildings. Continue reading...

Number of new jobs matches July's total, reflecting resilience of labor market even with high interest ratesThe US jobs market is holding steady as interest rates sit at a 22-year high, with US employers adding 187,000 jobs in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).The number of new jobs added in August is the same as the number of new jobs in July, showing that the labor market, down to levels seen before the pandemic, is resilient even with high interest rates. Continue reading...

The Nobel Foundation said invitations for the 2023 events were extended to all countries with diplomatic missions in Sweden and NorwayThere cannot be sustainable peace" in Ukraine unless the country regains control of Crimea, Donbas and other territories occupied by Russia, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said at the European House Ambrosetti business forum in Italy on Friday.Russia has previously said it is open to peace talks with Kyiv but insists on its claim to four Ukrainian provinces it said it annexed last year and fully or partly controls, as well as Crimea that it annexed in 2014 - a condition Kyiv will not accept. Continue reading...

Fans in costumes gathered at the London station to watch a train for Hogsmeade' on platform 93/4 appear on the departure boardThousands of Harry Potter fans braved the rail strikes on Friday to gather at King's Cross station in London for back to Hogwarts day".Many wearing wizard robes and carrying wands, fans of the franchise travelled to the station to hear the magical loudspeaker call for the Hogwarts Express at 11am, inviting witches and wizards to board the train to Hogsmeade on platform 93/4. Continue reading...

From Essex to Cumbria, many are dismayed by timing of the government's action on aerated concrete in buildingsOn Thursday, the emails that have left headteachers reeling started to arrive. A ruling from ministers in the Department for Education said their schools, built using potentially dangerous concrete, would need to close or partially close.Within hours, parents and children had been informed. Many were left angry and confused by the timing of the announcement, just before the start of a new school year. Schools across England were left with days to improvise temporary classrooms from marquees or empty office buildings, or arrange to share space with unaffected schools. The majority of schools will open as usual but for tens of thousands of pupils the new academic year will start like no other. Continue reading...

Police investigating poster put up in bus shelter in County Derry, which follows data breach last monthPolice in Northern Ireland have said a poster featuring the personal details of three serving officers was placed on a bus shelter in County Derry.An investigation has been launched into the incident in Dungiven on Thursday. It follows a data breach last month in which the details of about 10,000 officers and staff were mistakenly released online. Continue reading...

Mahek and Ansreen Bukhari sentenced in Leicester over killing of men who died when car was rammed off roadA self-obsessed" TikTok influencer has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 31 years and eight months for her part in the murder of two men who died in a fireball when their car was rammed off the road during a high-speed chase outside Leicester.Mahek Bukhari, 24, blew a kiss to her father as she was jailed alongside her mother, Ansreen Bukhari, who was sentenced to a minimum term of 26 years and nine months for the double murder. Continue reading...

Schools minister Nick Gibb said the collapse happened at a school previously thought to have been at no risk from aerated concrete

Mourners gather outside 80 Albert Street amid criticisms of government response and lack of support for victims and familiesSouth African authorities were on Friday still searching for clues behind the cause of the most deadly fire in the country's history, with at least 74 people confirmed to have died and dozens more being treated in hospital.About 400 people are thought to have lived in informal settlements in the building at 80 Albert Street in central Johannesburg, which relied on illegal electricity connections for power and had no emergency exits. It is owned by the City of Johannesburg. Continue reading...

Ex-ITV journalist, who lasted less than a year in role, says No 10 is demanding and high-pressure place to work'Rishi Sunak's director of communications has quit her role, as Downing Street's mini-reshuffle took an internal turn.The former ITV journalist, Amber de Botton, who was brought in to salvage the government's sinking reputation when Sunak took over from Liz Truss as prime minister, announced on Friday she had decided it is the right time to move on". Continue reading...

Woman accused of contacting beauty blogger on Instagram and offering free salon treatment before killing her with accompliceA 23-year-old German-Iraqi woman has been indicted for murder after allegedly seeking out a lookalike on Instagram and killing her with an accomplice, in an effort to fake her own death.The woman, identified as Shahraban Kh-B, was initially thought to have been the murder victim when the blood-soaked body of a young woman was found last August in a parked Mercedes in Ingolstadt, southern Germany. Continue reading...

Hospital staff apparently failed to carry out observations needed to keep UWE Bristol rugby player safe, hearing is toldMedical staff caring for a student being treated in hospital after she suffered a dislocated hip in a rugby accident did not initially test her for sepsis even after a system designed to pick up early warning signs suggested this should have been done, an inquest has heard.Staff at Southmead hospital in Bristol also apparently failed to carry out all the observations needed to keep 20-year-old Maddy Lawrence safe, the hearing was told. Continue reading...

Canadian advocacy groups alarmed by anti-LGBTQ+ laws in America and say legislation having an impact across the borderCanadian LGBTQ rights and civil liberties organizations are speaking out about the rise in hostile laws and hate crimes in the United States.The development comes after the Canadian government earlier this week warned LGBTQ Canadian citizens about the risks of visiting the US due to a growing wave of anti-LGBTQ local laws. Continue reading...

Come and live in somebody's shoes who is at high risk of serious complications from the flu or Covid,' disability advocate says

Statement comes amid concern about allegations Saudi forces have killed hundreds of migrantsGermany ended a training programme for Saudi border forces, who have been implicated in the mass killing of migrants at the country's border with Yemen, after it was alerted to reports of possible massive human rights violations".In a statement to the Guardian, the German interior ministry said that training undertaken by the federal police service for the Saudi border force had been discontinued after reports of possible massive human rights violations became known and, as a precaution, are no longer included in the current training programme [for Saudi security forces]". Continue reading...

V&A has faced criticism for being slow to disassociate itself from benefactors with role in US opioid epidemicThe V&A Dundee has become the latest UK museum to remove a reference to the money it received from the Sackler family amid continuing anger over its central role in the opioid epidemic in the US.The 80m museum, Scotland's first devoted to design, opened in 2018 and had among its donors the Sackler Trust, which gave 500,000. Continue reading...

Couples unable to conceive are heading further afield, but experts suggest checking regulations that may differ abroadCaroline cried cycling to work after discovering she was going through early menopause. She received the diagnosis over the phone from her GP after months of brain fog, depression and other unexplained symptoms. Shortly afterwards, she ended up in a fertility clinic in Greece.At the time, three years ago, then aged 34, Caroline, who did not want to give her full name and who lives in London, knew she wanted children but her options in the UK were limited. There was a year-long waiting list for a single cycle of IVF in her area, plus another year's wait for egg donation. The length of wait was too long," Caroline said. Continue reading...

Unlawful practice still used in Kent was condemned after more than 200 went missing from accommodation

Approaching one year on from the start of her tenure, a look back on how it all fell apart within 49 daysWhen Liz Truss addressed the nation from Downing Street in her first speech as prime minister, she promised action this day, and action every day". It was meant to be a Churchillian call to arms demonstrating her determination to solve the intractable issues facing Britain. Instead, it foreshadowed the most chaotic period in recent political history.As the sole survivor through the cabinets of the three previous Conservative-led governments, Truss was used to putting pragmatism above principles. But that approach was cast aside when she swept in to No 10. Continue reading...

Post-Brexit environment watchdog put to the test as local authorities in England told to ignore extra sewage from new developmentsMichael Gove vowed in 2017, when trying to reassure remainers that leaving the EU did not mean leaving its standards behind, that Brexit would strengthen environmental protections" in the UK.But this week, the first proper ripping-up of an EU environmental rule was proposed by Gove himself, who has transitioned from proclaiming the virtues of a green Brexit" to referring to the very rules he promised to protect as defective". Continue reading...

Thaksin, who returned to Thailand last week, accepted his crime and showed remorse', says royal gazetteKing Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand has reduced the sentence of Thaksin Shinawatra from eight years down to one, just over a week after the former prime minister returned from more than 15 years in self-imposed exile.A document published in the royal gazette said the country's most famous politician had accepted his crime and showed remorse", adding the former prime minister was elderly and ill. Continue reading...