World news | The Guardian

Riding most popular in Victoria and the Northern Territory with Tasmania at the bottom of the pile, new survey suggestsA pandemic bicycle boom has faded, with the latest statistics showing many people feel it is too dangerous to ride on Australian roads.There has been a steady decline in people cycling at least once during a 12-month period over the past decade, from about 40% in 2011 down to 34.2% in 2017. Continue reading...

Company breached rules that state existing policyholders should not be charged more than new onesDirect Line will pay about 30m to customers who were charged more than they should have been to renew car and home insurance policies.The UK's second biggest car insurer, which in June launched a review into motor insurance claims over the last five years after an investigation into the market by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said it discovered the overcharging problem after the incorrect implementation of the new pricing practice regulation that came into force in January last year. Continue reading...

Health minister's office confirms government has accepted expert body's advice. Follow today's live news updates

Coalition to pursue government when parliament resumes next week with Bridget McKenzie arguing it should come clean'The Coalition will use next week's sitting of federal parliament to vigorously pursue" the Albanese government over its decision to reject the bid by Qatar Airways to fly more services into Australia.Senators will also consider whether to recall Qantas for more questioning before parliamentary committees. Continue reading...

August 5.3% drop comes as sales completions down by about 40% in first half of year compared with 2021

Warrant issued in investigation into smuggling of antiquities looted from Turkey and trafficked through USA headless bronze statue believed to depict the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius has been seized from the Cleveland Museum of Art by New York authorities investigating antiquities looted from Turkey.A warrant signed by a judge in Manhattan on 14 August ordered the seizure of the statue, which the museum acquired in 1986 and had been a highlight of its collection of ancient Roman art. Continue reading...

Nick Gibb says buildings continue to be surveyed for risk of collapse after over 100 were told to shutThe schools minister has warned more schools in England could face closure after more than 100 were told to shut just days before term starts for thousands of pupils.The government has refused to publicly reveal the 104 education facilities that have been told to shut buildings due to the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a material at risk of collapse. Continue reading...

Exclusive: First look at the truth-telling and treaty-making body's work comes amid heavy Coalition scrutiny

The photographer Gideon Mendel travelled to Rhodes a month after the fires as part of his Burning World project. He sought to document the impact on lives and landscapesJuly 2023 was the hottest month ever recorded, and Rhodes in Greece was one of many places that faced scorching temperatures and wildfires. There were no human casualties but the fire ravaged about 135,000 hectares of forest and vegetation, burned more than 50,000 olive trees and many domestic animals, destroyed about 50 homes and led to the mass evacuation of tourists from the area.I travelled to the region a month after the fires, making new work for my Burning World project. I choose not to document the flames but rather seek out their aftermath, the traces left behind on lives and landscapes.The Ekaterini hotel in Kiotari, south Rhodes Continue reading...

Exclusive: Response comes after Fair Australia shared clip from Seven Psychopaths with face of Anthony Albanese superimposed over gun-toting thug

In today's newsletter: The former energy secretary starts his fifth cabinet post in the past year, but questions remain about his military nous Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. The UK awakes today with a new defence secretary and yet another cabinet job for Grant Shapps - his fifth in the space of a year.Shapps began last September as Boris Johnson's transport secretary, spent a week as Liz Truss's home secretary, replaced Jacob Rees-Mogg as business secretary after Rishi Sunak became prime minister, and then in February was demoted to energy secretary. Now he is in charge of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) at a moment when - as his predecessor Ben Wallace said in his resignation letter - the world will only get more insecure and more unstable". Continue reading...

Peak lawyers body renews call for federal complaints commission after inferior court judge found personally liable for false imprisonment

Election comes as minister faces a corruption investigation and voters express frustration with the electoral processSingaporeans will select a new president on Friday, a vote that will measure public mood at a time when the ruling party, which has been in power for more than six decades, is reeling from a spate of uncommon political scandals.The vote comes as a senior government minister is under investigation by the country's anti-graft agency, and after the resignation of two senior lawmakers over an affair. Continue reading...

Public consultation on cost-cutting plans ends on Friday, as drivers strike again over jobs and payUnions have urged one final push" to save railway ticket offices from closure before the public consultation ends on Friday, when train drivers strike again.Around half a million responses have been submitted to the consultation over cost-cutting proposals to close most of England's 1,000 station offices. Continue reading...

Data shows annual rent increases in all major cities topped 10% last year as advocates warn low-income earners are being priced out of the market

Former RBA deputy governor's exit comes days after the mining group's CFO and chief executive departed

It's not an easy decision,' broadcaster says, announcing he will leave show in December to take up other roles at Nine

Child, 12, suffers broken leg and hip injuries after allegedly stolen car crashed into tree in Cranebrook

Watchdog chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb wants to deliver new record penalty in case alleging Qantas sold tickets for already cancelled flights

Chief executive says pumped hydro project remains critical' to energy transition away from fossil fuels

Manufacturer of much of the western equipment used against Russian invasion says it aims to produce artillery

New Delhi municipal council has also deployed 30 to 40 people' to make monkey sounds to create the impression that the animals are aliveLifesize cutouts of langurs have sprung up in several parts of New Delhi over the last few days as officials look to prevent the smaller rhesus monkeys from disrupting the G20 summit that will take place next week.Rhesus monkeys are a menace in many areas in India's national capital, running across busy roads without warning - putting both themselves and motorists at risk - and often attacking unsuspecting pedestrians or residents. Continue reading...

African Union suspends Gabon's membership after General Brice Oligui Nguema and followers threw out re-elected president Ali BongoThe general who overthrew Gabon's 55-year Bongo dynasty will be sworn in on Monday as transitional president, the army has said, while the African Union's peace and security council has decided to immediately suspend" Gabon after the military coup this week.Gabon's opposition, meanwhile, has called for its candidate to be recognised as the winner of weekend elections. Continue reading...

Lower than average supply levels have put upwards pressure on values while flatlining interest rates are boosting buyer confidence

Urgent support' needed over high levels of violence and drugs at understaffed HMP WoodhillThe high-security jail that holds Charles Bronson needs urgent support" amid the high rate of attacks on prison officers and chronic" staff shortages, the watchdog has said.The chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, wrote to the justice secretary, Alex Chalk, to issue an urgent notification for improvement at HMP Woodhill after an inspection found the Milton Keynes jail was fundamentally unsafe". Continue reading...

Japan has learned key lessons from the 1923 earthquake that killed 105,000 people, but rapid growth of the capital has raised the stakesThe earthquake that struck the Tokyo region two minutes before noon on 1 September 1923 was so powerful that it destroyed the central weather bureau's seismometers.Over almost two days, fires triggered by household gas burners, chemicals and overhead wires raged through the wooden buildings of eastern Tokyo's low-lying shitamachi neighbourhoods. Continue reading...

Investigation into deaths of Vincent Hong and Timothy Saville let down' by Greek authorities, says coronerThe families of two men from Yorkshire who died on a scuba diving trip in Greece have been told they may never find out exactly what happened to their loved ones.A Hull coroner has said it is not possible to determine what caused the deaths of Dr Vincent Hong, a consultant cardiothoracic anaesthetist, and Timothy Saville, a Huddersfield businessman, who died within three days of each other on the same trip. Continue reading...

Ex-MP claims her account will lay bare a corruption of democracy deep at the heart of the Conservative Party and in Downing Street'Nadine Dorries' book on the downfall of Boris Johnson will be delayed until November because of the required legal process", the publisher has said.The former culture secretary, who resigned as an MP last weekend, has been writing a book on her staunch ally, which had been scheduled for release on 28 September, just before the Conservative party conference in Manchester. It will now be released on 9 November, HarperCollins said. Continue reading...

Physician says 81-year-old Senate Republican leader is medically clear' to continue with schedule after second freezing episodeMitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the US Senate, was given a clean bill of health by the congressional physician, a day after freezing in front of reporters for the second time in a month.In a short statement, the physician, Brian P Monahan, said he had consulted with McConnell and told him he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned". Continue reading...

Jasmine Paez, 18, arrested by Miami police after she allegedly filled out request form on spoof website Rentahitman.comThe spoof website Rentahitman.com has caught another seemingly genuine customer, this time a Florida mother allegedly plotting to kill her three-year old son.Last month, Miami-Dade police arrested 18-year old Jazmin Paez after she filled out a request form on the parody website - which she thought was real - to have her son killed, according to arrest documents reviewed by local TV station NBC 6. Continue reading...

Former president enters not guilty plea via attorney, skipping arraignment planned for Fulton county next week

Blaze at five-storey block puts spotlight on dangerous state of hijacked' city buildings occupied by vulnerable residentsSurvivors of a fire that ripped through a building in Johannesburg described jumping out of windows to escape the flames, as questions were raised about the dilapidated and dangerous state of the informal dwellings housing poor economic migrants in the city.The death toll rose to 74 on Thursday afternoon following the blaze that took hold in the early hours of the morning. Dozens more people were being treated for injuries in hospitals around the city. Continue reading...

Former president's court filing means he will not appear in Fulton county for formal arraignment next weekDonald Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired and engaged in racketeering activity to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia, according to a court filing submitted by his lawyer in superior court in Atlanta.The former president also attested in the filing that he would waive his arraignment - the formal reading of the indictment handed up by a jury this month - meaning he will not need to appear for that proceeding next week. Continue reading...

Ukraine's foreign minister also says critics of the offensive's slow progress should shut up'At a glance: what we know on day 554 of the invasionA military spokesperson says Ukrainian armed forces are making progress in the direction of Novoprokopivka - the village beyond Robotyne, in the direction of Melitopol.The capture of Robotyne was announced earlier this week. Even though just a few miles from where Ukrainian troops were at the start of the counter-offensive, it marked a significant achievement in breaking through an initial line of Russian defences prepared over the winter. Continue reading...

Students and teachers at dozens of schools in England will need to be moved off site - with schools told to foot bill for alternative spacesThousands of pupils in England may have to begin the autumn term taking lessons remotely or in temporary buildings after the government ordered more than 100 schools to immediately shut buildings made with aerated concrete that is liable to sudden collapse.The order from the Department for Education was sent to 156 schools, school nurseries and further education colleges on Thursday, plunging the start of the new academic year into chaos for teachers and pupils. Continue reading...

Indian opposition leader brandishes Guardian article on alleged financial violations by Adani familyRahul Gandhi has said India's global reputation is on the line" and demanded that the prime minister, Narendra Modi, opens a parliamentary investigation, after the Guardian revealed years of alleged financial violations by the politically connected Adani family.Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, the leader of India's opposition Congress party held aloft a copy of the Guardian article detailing how Adani family associates had appeared to use opaque offshore funds to secretly invest hundreds of millions of dollars into shares of their own Adani Group companies, one of the most powerful conglomerates in India. Continue reading...

Regulator aims to stop power plants' tactic that costs households hundreds of millions of poundsElectricity companies will no longer be able to deploy a controversial tactic that forces up bills at the expense of consumers, the energy watchdog has said as it unveiled rules designed to curb firms making excessive" profits in the winter.Ofgem said electricity generators could face stiff penalties" of up to 10% of their revenue for breaching the new regulations, which aim to prevent manipulation of the complex system that keeps Britain's electricity grid stable. Continue reading...

After years of squeezed funding, teachers are furious at government's shocking neglect' of buildings

Victory for Fabian Nelson, a Democrat, leaves Louisiana as only state never to have elected LGBTQ+ person to its legislatureThe US state of Mississippi has elected an openly gay person to its legislature for the first time ever.Fabian Nelson's victory this week left Louisiana as the only American state which had never elected an LGBTQ+ person to its legislature. And it served up a salve of sorts to a wave of laws passed in Republican-controlled state legislatures that discriminate against LGBTQ+ people, including a ban in Mississippi on gender-affirming hormones or surgery for anyone aged 17 or younger. Continue reading...

Ben Wallace resignation prompts appointment of former energy secretary and mini cabinet reshuffleGrant Shapps has been chosen to replace Ben Wallace as defence secretary in a mini-reshuffle of the cabinet, sparking criticism from some Conservative MPs and former military figures about his lack of relevant experience.The move handed Shapps his fifth cabinet post in a year, with Claire Coutinho, the outgoing children's minister and 2019-entrant MP, picked to take over as energy secretary. Continue reading...

Documents released under FoI laws show officials' concerns after first asylum seekers boardedSafety inspectors have demanded five urgent alterations to the Bibby Stockholm, the giant barge meant to hold hundreds of people seeking asylum, because of risks to their lives in the event of fire, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show.Dorset and Wiltshire fire service examined the vessel in Portland after the first asylum seekers were taken onboard three weeks ago. Officials concluded in their fire inspection report, released under FoI, that lives could be put at risk because there were too few fire escapes, a lack of fire drills and problems with air vents that would have to be rectified within weeks. Continue reading...

Neo-Nazi Ashley Podsiad-Sharp worked at Leeds men's prison HMP Armley until his arrest last yearA neo-Nazi former prison officer who ran a fascist fitness club has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for possessing a terrorist handbook.Ashley Podsiad-Sharp, 42, from Barnsley was convicted at Sheffield crown court of possessing a white supremacist murder manual" on an encrypted hard drive. Continue reading...

Dylan Voller's solicitor argues new law retrospectively legalising practice could be successfully challenged

Treasury paper identifies ways to crack down on unfair practices that nudge, manipulate or trick people into handing over money or data

Lawyers to push forward with action against Salvatore Vasta after federal court found he committed serious and fundamental errors' in separate Mr Stradford case

Accenture's Peter Burns tells Senate the documents identifying key decision-makers and influence leaders have been used to tender for work

Aggrieved residents tell of issues in constituency of housing secretary planning to rip up pollution lawsWhile Michael Gove was deciding to weaken pollution laws for new housing developments this week, his own constituency was being plagued by the stench of human waste.People living on the outskirts of Camberley, the largest town in Gove's constituency of Surrey Heath, have been complaining for months that foul-smelling fumes from the local sewage works have ruined their summers, causing even the washing they hang out to stink. Continue reading...

Michael Gove last month refused permission to demolish and redevelop store near Marble Arch in London

Officer driving van that followed two teenagers before they died in e-bike crash in May facing criminal investigationA police officer who followed two teenagers in a van before they both died in an e-bike crash in Ely, Cardiff, in May, is being criminally investigated for dangerous driving, the Independent Office for Police Conduct has said.More details soon ... Continue reading...

No one reported injured in blasts which came as country struggles to rein in gang-related violenceBomb squad experts have been called in after Swedish cities were rocked by four explosions in an hour, police have said, with the country struggling to rein in a rise of gang-related violence.Just after 1am local time (midnight BST), police in Gothenburg received reports of two explosions at separate addresses, 10 minutes apart. Continue reading...