World news | The Guardian

Derbyshire authority proposes asking for up to 113 a week for children in care under voluntary arrangementsA cash-strapped English council is considering charging parents of children taken into local authority care half of the weekly cost of looking after them.Derbyshire county council said unprecedented financial challenges" meant it had little option but to maximise alternative sources of income" to try to reduce the strain on its children's services. The weekly charge would range from 90 to 113 depending on the child's age. Continue reading...

Latest system forms in Gulf of Mexico on Saturday, with forecasters expecting upgrade to hurricane in a few daysFlorida is expected to get walloped by another hurricane next week, just 10 days after it was hit by Hurricane Helene, which caused widespread storm surge and wind damage before it moved inland to cause devastating flooding.The latest system, Tropical Storm Milton, formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday. Forecasters expect the storm to quickly strengthen into a hurricane and rush toward Florida in the next few days. Continue reading...

Physical documents proving residence rights to be replaced by online visas at end of year despite functionality concernsPeople who have been UK residents for decades are worried they could find themselves locked out" of the country at the end of the year when eVisas come into force.The scheme means many physical immigration documents such as biometric residence permits (BRPs) or biometric residence cards (BRCs) need to be replaced by online visas, which critics have said do not work properly. Continue reading...

Former top civil servant says intense commentary around my position risked becoming a distraction'Sue Gray has resigned from her position as Keir Starmer's chief of staff after finding herself at the centre of a political storm since Labour came into power.Gray will be replaced by Morgan McSweeney, the party's election guru who masterminded Starmer's succession from Jeremy Corbyn, with whom she is said to have found herself at odds in government. Continue reading...

Parking tickets placed on 1980s background vehicles on set of AnemoneFilming for a new movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis was interrupted when traffic wardens in Chester began putting parking tickets on 1980s vehicles being used in the backdrop of a scene.Day-Lewis has come out of retirement for Anemone, which his son Ronan Day-Lewis is directing, and is starring alongside Sean Bean and Samantha Morton. Continue reading...

Confusion over 1 January start date as unions, tax experts and school leaders say it is unworkable

A week after the storm hit, the scale of the damage is still unknown - and many towns face a long road to recoveryAfter keeping vigil all night, Jason Fesperman, 32, decided it was finally safe to sleep. By 6am last Friday, he figured that the worst of the rain from Hurricane Helene had passed. Jonathan Creek, the normally ankle-deep stream that runs through his backyard in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, had stayed within its banks - though barely.Just over two hours later, his wife Dan woke him in a panic. Heavy rain continued past 9am in Maggie Valley, and by 8.30am, floodwaters were rising fast. Their home was underwater up to the windows. Continue reading...

University of Bath researchers found seven vaporizers sourced from the US contained dangerous SC compoundA new study from the University of Bath revealed that seven vaporizers claiming to contain cannabis actually contained a much more dangerous synthetic cannabinoid" (SC) compound.Earlier this year, the same lab published a study showing that over one in six vaporizers confiscated from schoolchildren across the UK also contained SCs. Continue reading...

A lack of financial and emotional support for kinship carers could push up to 18,000 children into an already overstretched foster care systemChildren are being plunged into poverty", a charity says, because of a lack of support for kinship carers - relatives or family friends who step in to look after children after a crisis.Kinship carers, who are often grandparents, are twice as likely as other adults to rely on food banks and four times as likely to fall behind on their bills, according to a new report. Continue reading...

Attacks on Lebanese capital continue as many reported dead in Israeli airstrike on mosque in central Gaza

She was all but forgotten. Now the 18th-century author's republished novels reveal why she made such an extraordinary contribution to literatureShe was a proto-feminist author whose phenomenally popular novels commanded unprecedented fees and influenced the work of Jane Austen, Lord Byron, John Keats, Mary Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Henry James, the Bronte sisters and Charles Dickens.Yet for centuries, Ann Radcliffe has been neglected by publishers, her name missing from textbooks and anthologies, and her extraordinary contribution to literature overlooked. Continue reading...

Protesters call for end to bloodshed at marches in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane a day before anniversary of 7 October Hamas attacks

Explosions heard across Lebanese capital; dozens reported killed with more wounded in hit on central Gaza mosque that Israel says was Hamas base

Follow the day's news liveAustralians arrive in Cyprus after being evacuated from LebanonSome images are coming through of Australian citizens, residents and their families arriving at Larnaca airport in Cyprus after being evacuated from Beirut yesterday.This is a tragedy that has been playing out in the Middle East. It is obviously difficult. It is obviously complex.That is a patent lie, and it's an intentional lie, and it's a lie intended to create division within Australian politics and from there, within Australian society. Continue reading...

Health secretary Wes Streeting told to speed up changes as inability to free up hospital bed linked to deaths of patientsHealth secretary Wes Streeting has been urged to speed up reforms to the adult care system in the wake of patient deaths after two coroners warned him of the impact insufficient care beds and service provision are having on the NHS.Last month, coroners sent two prevention of future deaths (PFD) reports to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) after the inability to discharge patients at two hospitals was linked to the deaths of others awaiting treatment. Continue reading...

Study finds more than 90% of facilities for children and 98% of those for adults that were closed down were run for profitAlmost all the care homes shut down for endangering children or vulnerable adults were run to make a profit, according to a landmark study examining the long-term impact of outsourcing care to the private sector.Research published last week by Oxford University reveals that 98% (804 out of 816) of the adult care homes closed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England to protect disabled, mentally ill and elderly people from harm between 2011 and 2023 were operated by private companies. Only 12 homes were run by either local authorities or charities. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Our latest live reporting of the Middle East crisis is here. And all our Middle East crisis coverage is hereAt least 41,825 Palestinians have been killed and 96,910 wounded in Israel's military offensive on Gaza since 7 October, the territory's health authorities said on Saturday.A South Korean military transport aircraft returned 97 citizens and family members from Lebanon on Saturday as Middle East tensions rise, the foreign ministry said. Continue reading...

Police believe woman may have not survived Sunday morning blaze at home in Thorneside, south of Brisbane

Opposition leader's claim Labor is at odds with our allies' an attempt to sow division, deputy prime minister says

The event, which is celebrating its anniversary, has grown into a global phenomenon - and made us feel a whole lot betterTwenty years ago, on a windy, autumnal Saturday morning, 13 runners showed up to a park in south-west London for an event called the Bushy Park Time Trial. A 5km course was plotted and the organiser, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, a computer programmer who grew up in South Africa, bought washers from a hardware store to hand out as finish tokens. The times were tapped up on a laptop afterwards in a local Caffe Nero.This Saturday, the weather hadn't much improved - overcast, with the sun straining to peek through - and the venue was the same: picturesque Bushy Park with its resident red deer squaring up, ready to rut. But pretty much everything else about the impromptu get-together has evolved. Since 2008, it has been known as Parkrun and there are now 2,500 weekly events - all 5km, all free - in 22 countries, everywhere from the slopes of Mount Etna to 25 UK prisons to the Falkland Islands. In a typical week, around 350,000 people will take part. Runner's World hails it a global phenomenon". Continue reading...

Vegemite sells for 30 cents more per 100g in Australia, a salty byproduct of lower supermarket competition sure to leave a bad taste

Staff should now receive every penny paid in tips - including service chargesWhoever said it's better to give than to receive wasn't talking about tipping. Waiters around the UK should be starting to receive a 200m-a-year bonanza thanks to a new law that means every penny paid in tips, including service charges, on a restaurant bill will have to go to staff.Yet exactly how much of the money will end up in servers' pockets is unclear. The law was changed because some restaurants took service charges as part of their profits or to pay for overheads such as lighting. Continue reading...

Stephen Doughty's remarks come as Argentina vows to gain full sovereignty' of Falkland IslandsThe UK is resolutely committed" to all of its overseas territories, the responsible foreign minister said, after Argentina vowed to gain full sovereignty" of the Falkland Islands.Stephen Doughty said on Saturday that the sovereignty of the territories is not up for negotiation". Continue reading...

After all four would-be leaders spoke against law change, both sides seek to sway waverersSupporters of an assisted dying law in England and Wales are battling to stop the issue from splitting alongparty political lines after all fourTory leadership candidates suggested they would vote against the historic change.An all-important House of Commons vote on the issue could now be just weeks away after it was revealed that Labour MP Kim Leadbeater would be introducing a private member's bill that would give some terminally ill adults the option of being helped to end their lives. Continue reading...

Muslim and Jewish figures join archbishop in first act of high-level solidarityMuslim and Jewish leaders today unite around an unprecedented joint statement calling the assaults on Israel on 7 October last year brutal Hamas terrorist attacks" that led to a devastating war in Gaza and beyond" which together have caused horrific" human suffering.Joined by the archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in the first high-level act of inter-faith solidarity in the year-long conflict, they say in a letter to the Observer: Our faiths and our humanity teach us that we should mourn for all the innocent people who have lost their lives. Continue reading...

Separate memorial event on Sunday organised by Jewish groups will mark anniversary of 7 October attack on Israel

Alasdair Buchan, who directed his version aged 11 in 1997, will play mysterious stranger in long-running whodunnitAs the curtain falls on every performance of The Mousetrap, the world's longest-running play, applauding audience members are famously urged not to go on to reveal the secret solution to the murder mystery.This autumn, however, a fresh element of intrigue has been added to the plot of Agatha Christie's enduring hit, which first opened in 1952 at Nottingham's Theatre Royal. Continue reading...

Ending tax exemption for private education has not led to influx at selective secondaries predicted by criticsClaims that England's grammars will be swamped" in September by pupils priced out of private schools by VAT on fees are unfounded, data frommore than half of selective state schools suggests.The number of children registered to sit the 11-plus entrance tests for grammar schools next September hasfallen slightly compared withlastyear. Continue reading...

World Health Organization declared outbreak in central and east Africa a global emergency two months agoAuthorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have begun vaccination against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread to several countries was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization.Some of the 265,000 doses donated to the DRC by the EU and the US were administered in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox. Continue reading...

Women and men march in village where Pelicot's husband is accused of drugging her and inviting men to assault herA silent march took place in support of Gisele Pelicot and other female victims of sexual violence on Saturday in Mazan, the village where Pelicot's husband is accused of drugging her and inviting more than 80 men to assault her at their home.Hundreds of women and men turned out in solidarity with the woman at the centre of a case that has shocked the world. Members of the Pelicot family did not attend but said they appreciated the public support. Continue reading...

Healthcare workers have been displaced and paramedics killed in the south of the country

Unions have welcomed plans to grant sick and maternity pay and protection against unfair dismissal from first day in a jobWorkers' representatives have welcomed UK government plans to give greater rights to millions, amid reports ministers are about to bring forward a bill to grant sick pay, maternity pay and protection against unfair dismissal from an employee's first day in the job.Ministers have set themselves an ambitious timetable to introduce a law to deliver a once-in-a-generation" overhaul of employment rights within 100 days of taking office, and it is reported a bill will be brought forward next week to start that process. Continue reading...

Military also ordering civilians in two Gaza camps to evacuate, while operations in Lebanon continue to ramp up

Young child reportedly found on overcrowded boat trying to cross Channel, hours after G7 countries agree plan to combat smuggling gangsA child was reported to be among several people who died attempting to cross the Channel overnight, according to French officials.The French interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, suggested the child had been trampled to death" on a boat. Continue reading...

Items belonging to missing 34-year-old, last seen in Malton on Monday, have been found close to River DerwentThe family of a woman who went missing five days ago have appealed to volunteers not to put themselves at risk as the search for her continues.Victoria Taylor, 34, was last seen at 9am on Monday at her home in Malton, North Yorkshire, police said. A CCTV still of her at a garage in the town later that morning has been released. Continue reading...

The party has plans to prevent cars from hogging the city's walkways, but expect a backlash from motoristsIsmail Mohammad pushes a buggy down the centre of a narrow road in east Bristol. His two sons stay close as vehicles could come from either direction at any moment. There are cars [parked] on the pavement. We have to go on the road," says Mohammad as he hurries to the boys' primary school in Easton. It's dangerous because cars sometimes come fast through here."This is the daily gauntlet run by parents of young children and by disabled people in many parts of the inner city, where tightly packed Victorian streets struggle to accommodate lines of parked cars, camper vans and ever-expanding SUVs. Continue reading...

Party figures say frontrunner will be brought down by the right if he tries to move to more moderate groundRobert Jenrick will be toppled by the Tory party's right wing should he attempt to pivot to the centre ground if installed as leader, senior Conservatives have warned.Jenrick, who remains the frontrunner for the job after the party's conference in Birmingham, has won support from the right with a series of uncompromising stances. He has said he would welcome Nigel Farage into the party, leave the European convention on human rights and vote for Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Collision of two trains in west London killed 31 people and was one of worst rail disasters in recent UK historyFamilies bereaved by the Ladbroke Grove rail disaster have laid flowers to remember those killed, and to recognise those who came to their aid, 25 years after the crash that killed 31 people.The disaster, one of the most catastrophic rail incidents in recent UK history, also left more than 220 injured. A rush-hour train collided almost head-on with a high-speed train about 2 miles from Paddington station in west London, shortly after 8am on 5 October 1999. Continue reading...

Private Eye host says police asked if anyone might have a grudge' against him after window shattered on London cabThe Private Eye editor, Ian Hislop, has laughed off an incident in which the window of a taxi he was travelling in was shattered by what was initially believed to be a gunshot.Hislop, 64, offered a lighthearted response to the incident on Friday's edition of Have I Got News For You on the BBC. Continue reading...

American musician and actor will not play his UK and Ireland dates as he recovers from scheduled surgeryDonald Glover has cancelled the remaining dates on his Childish Gambino tour after scheduling surgery for an ailment".The American actor, rapper and singer was due to head to the UK in November and early December to perform in Manchester, Glasgow, London and Birmingham, as well as Dublin in Ireland. Glover had already postponed the remainder of his North American tour to focus on his physical health". Continue reading...

Health leaders tell government to follow Scotland and Wales on cost of cheap booze after Darzi report on death tollMinisters are facing pressure to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol after Lord Darzi's investigation into the NHS highlighted the alarming" death toll in England caused by cheap drink.Public health leaders are this weekend calling for urgent action to increase the price of cheap alcohol in supermarkets and off-licences. A two-litre bottle of cider can be bought in England for under 2, which equates to 22p per unit of alcohol. Continue reading...

Adam Skindzier, 44, from Netherton area of Merseyside, last seen with six-month-old Nathan on Friday afternoonPolice are searching for a 44-year-old man who has gone missing with his six-month-old son.Adam Skindzier, who is from the Netherton in Merseyside, was last seen with his son, Nathan, at about 4pm on Friday, police said. Skindzier, who is Polish, is believed to be driving a black Mercedes. Continue reading...

Foreign secretary and PM call on nationals and their dependants to evacuate on Sunday's flight, the last one scheduled for now

Questions raised over potential eligibility, while body representing palliative care staff opposes law changeProposals to give terminally ill people in England and Wales the right to choose to end their life will be considered by MPs this month. While the public debate about moral arguments, doctors are considering the practical reality of assisted dying, as a historic change to the law appears an increasingly likely prospect.As public opinion on the issue has shifted in the past decade, so too has the medical perspective. In 2021 the British Medical Association voted in favour of changing its position on assisted dying from opposition to a change in the law to neutrality. Many doctors are swayed by the argument that patients should have freedom over their own bodies, including how they die when they are terminally ill. Others have ethical and pragmatic concerns or worry about how assisted dying could affect access to palliative care at a time when health inequalities are already rife. Continue reading...

NHS checks are expected to reach about 18,000 students with disabilities and additional needsYoung people with disabilities and additional needs in residential schools and colleges will soon be offered free NHS hearing, dental and eyesight checks.NHS sensory checks that were piloted by the government in 2022 and 2023 will be rolled out to educational facilities across England from next year. Continue reading...

Since their appearance together at the Venice film festival, there has been much speculation about the pairAs the A-list stars assembled at the Venice film festival this autumn, there were few there more famous than Angelina Jolie, who generated Oscar buzz for her performance in Pablo Larrain's biopic of Maria Callas.But one of the most intriguing subplots didn't take place on the big screen - in the audience at the film's premiere, as a guest of Jolie, was Akala - the rapper, author and activist. Continue reading...

Jedidajah Otte accuses London NHS trust of dishonesty' over three-month-old Aviva's death and infected baby feedA grieving mother has told an inquest how secretive, evasive and patronising" behaviour by NHS staff was traumatic" and led to her spending years seeking the truth about her daughter's death.Jedidajah Otte told how she encountered a stubborn refusal" by doctors and nurses at St Thomas' hospital in London to tell her what was happening with three-month-old Aviva's health. Continue reading...

Explosions and smoke reported in capital early on Saturday while Hezbollah says clashes continue with Israeli troops in Lebanon border area

Former British prime minister also criticises the Bank of England and bureaucrats in speech at rightwing conference in Brisbane

Bureau of Meteorology says temperatures should reach high 20s in NSW and Queensland over the weekend, while Victoria can expect showers