World news | The Guardian

Union leader says employment rights bill is good for the economy' amid fears legislation could be weakened

This blog is now closed. Our full report is here: Tom Phillips shot dead after attempted burglary, NZ police confirmThe mayor of Waitomo, John Robertson, told the Guardian this morning's events were the worst possible outcome for the community.I'm shattered, to be honest, and there will be many in the community that are devastated that this was the outcome after three and a half, four years," he said.So it's just devastating news. Really the worst outcome we could have expected.No day that goes by that I don't think about all four of them.It hurts every time I see photos of the children and of you, and see some of your stuff that is still here, thinking what could have been if you had not gone away. Continue reading...

Vice-chancellor tells Senate inquiry he recognises it is a stressful time' for staff and meetings will be arranged to consult on the changes

The ruling Liberal Democratic party is still grappling with the fallout from a years-old funding scandal that may see it go into opposition for just the third time in its historyThe precise timing of Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba's resignation announcement - on a Sunday evening - took many by surprise; but the countdown to his departure arguably began just weeks after he took office.Having won the presidency of the Liberal Democratic party (LDP) - a formidable political force that has governed Japan for much of the past seven decades - Ishiba called a snap election in search of a public mandate after a major funding scandal, and to silence his opponents on the right of the party. Continue reading...

Campaign Against Arms Trade says UK government has hit peak complicity in genocide' in allowing the firms to exhibitFifty-one Israeli arms makers and the US defence giant behind the F-35 fighters used to bomb Gaza are among the 1,600 exhibitors at the biennial DSEI trade show that begins in London's Docklands on Tuesday.Their presence will be the focus for hundreds planning to demonstrate outside the four-day arms fair, at which the defence secretary, John Healey, is expected to speak alongside senior British military officials. Continue reading...

Triple murderer sentenced in Victorian supreme court after killing relatives with a beef wellington lunch laced with death cap mushrooms

Complaint lodged asks ASA to investigate claims made in promotion launched in conjunction with household brandsThe UK advertising watchdog has received a complaint about its own high-profile UK-wide campaign, accusing it of breaking the rules it enforces around misleading marketing.The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which investigates whether ads breach UK regulations, is being asked to investigate claims made in its campaign launched in conjunction with household brands including Tesco, Comparethemarket and Lloyds bank. Continue reading...

Government to use tax breaks and other financial incentives to encourage people to have more childrenGreece has announced drastic measures, including tax breaks and other financial incentives, to address a population decline that is on course to make it the oldest nation in Europe.The prime minister said the 1.6bn (1.4bn) relief package had been dictated by one of the biggest challenges facing the Mediterranean nation : a demographic crisis of unprecedented scale. Continue reading...

Justices rule state is legally obliged to ensure basic level of existence' and orders authorities to improve nutritionIsrael's supreme court has ruled that the government has failed to provide Palestinian security prisoners with adequate food for basic subsistence and ordered authorities to improve their nutrition.Sunday's decision was a rare case in which the country's highest court ruled against the government's conduct during the nearly two-year war. Continue reading...

Officials say three people including mother and baby killed in strikes that also hit key government building for first timeRussia has launched its largest ever air attack on Ukraine, hitting a key government building in Kyiv for the first time and killing at least three people, including a mother and her baby, and drawing widespread condemnation, including a fresh threat of further US sanctions.The bombardment of the capital with a large number of drones and missiles injured at least 18 people and set scores of buildings on fire. Explosions were also reported in the cities of Odesa, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih. Authorities triggered a countrywide air-raid warning at 6.06am local time and later accused Russia of deliberately striking civilian targets. Continue reading...

Footage of raid by US immigration officials showed detained workers in handcuffs and with chains around their anklesSouth Korea announced on Sunday that the roughly 300 of its nationals detained during an immigration raid in Georgia would be released and flown home, as the sudden detention of workers appeared to strain the longstanding diplomatic and economic relationship between the two nations.Nearly 500 workers, among them at least 300 South Koreans and at least 23 Mexicans, were arrested at the Hyundai-LG battery plant in the city of Ellabell on Thursday. Continue reading...

Petition, drafted by human rights lawyers, says war crimes were committed during British occupation of PalestineA group of Palestinians will serve a legal petition asking the UK to take responsibility for what they call serial international law violations", including war crimes committed during the British occupation of Palestine from 1917 to 1948, the consequences of which it says still reverberate today.The 400-plus page document, drafted by human rights KCs, details incontrovertible evidence" of the UK's unlawful legacy. Continue reading...

With Reform exploiting tensions in society, Mahmood must address frustration about immigrationShabana Mahmood already showed she was willing to defy convention when she praised Margaret Thatcher for smashing a political mould - now she's making history as the first Muslim woman to hold one of Britain's great offices of state.It's not the new home secretary's only moment as a surprising politician. Mahmood has spoken of how she has a natural affinity for the faith, flag and family element of Blue Labour", a small socially conservative fraction of the party which now holds some sway in No 10. Continue reading...

Justice Christopher Beale will sentence the triple murderer on Monday, with the hearing to be broadcast live in a state first

Phones across the country play siren and vibrate in latest test of service for use during emergenciesMillions of phones across the UK played a siren and vibrated on Sunday afternoon as the government carried out a nationwide test of its emergency alert system.The alarm, which sounded at 3pm, lasted for 10 seconds and was accompanied by a message on screen making clear it was only a test. Continue reading...

Married monographers have collated sometimes absurd word choices through which journalists avoid repetitionWhat would you do with cod digits"? Can you identify a monochrome mammal"? And what on earth is an unfortunate ungulate"? They are all attempts by journalists - either elegant or absurd, depending on your outlook - to avoid repeating a noun already featured in an article. In the cases above, they are genuine journalistic attempts to describe fish fingers, a panda and a sheep stuck in a car.Spotting examples of eye-catching second mentions" became a hobby for couple Juliet and Matthew Maguire. They began collecting examples after Juliet encountered them during her journalism training. Their interest grew into a social media account, which became a lively exchange of the distinctive descriptors. Continue reading...

Ken Paxton, who is running for US Senate, is urging schools to say the Lord's Prayer as a Republican law goes into effectKen Paxton, the Texas attorney general running for US Senate, has long believed in school prayer. Now, he's prescribing precisely what type of prayer he wants the state's 6 million public school students to recite.In Texas classrooms, we want the Word of God opened, the Ten Commandments displayed, and prayers lifted up," Paxton said in a statement on Tuesday, encouraging students to say the Lord's Prayer, as taught by Jesus Christ". Continue reading...

People in small village of Jakovo celebrate after re-claiming Guinness world record with line of almost 9,000 baked strudelsA Croatian village has made it into the record books with a line of nearly 9,000 strudels stretching more than three kilometres.Two tonnes of flour and three tonnes of apples were used for the world's longest line of strudels - baked pastry desserts - in the small village of Jakovo, organisers said. Continue reading...

The Voice of Hind Rajab, a harrowing account of a Palestinian child's death in Gaza, won the runner-up Silver LionUS indie director Jim Jarmusch unexpectedly won the coveted Golden Lion at the Venice film festival on Saturday with Father Mother Sister Brother, a three-part meditation on the uneasy tie between parents and their adult children.Although his gentle comedy received largely positive reviews, it had not been a favourite for the top prize, with many critics instead tipping the Voice of Hind Rajab, a harrowing true-life account of the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl during the Gaza war. In the end, the film directed by Tunisia's Kaouther Ben Hania took the runner-up Silver Lion. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Climate advocates reject CEO's claim he is not qualified' to comment on risks of gas firm's plan to extend production to 2070

Inaugural Tour de 4 is tailored to individuals' physical abilities and aims to challenge assumptions about stage 4 cancerMel Erwin is pragmatic about what it took to get her on a bike. I have one and a half lungs. I'm on a treatment drug. I don't identify as sporty. I wouldn't have done it without a goal."This Sunday the 57-year-old will roar up the Campsie Hills north of Glasgow in a camp as Christmas" sparkly cape alongside her partner, Sarah, and 3,000 other participants. Continue reading...

Painting was spotted online by Dutch journalists when the daughter of a former Nazi official put her house up for sale in Mar del PlataThere was nothing very remarkable about the middle-aged couple who lived in the low, stone-clad villa on calle Padre Cardiel, a quiet residential street in the leafy Parque Luro district of Argentina's best-known seaside town, Mar del Plata.Patricia Kadgien, 58, was born in Buenos Aires, five hours to the north. Her social media described her as a yoga teacher and practitioner of biodecoding, an obscure alternative therapy that claims to cure illness by resolving past traumas. Continue reading...

One person treated at scene after emergency services called to nine-storey building shortly after 3amFirefighters are tackling a blaze in London's White City after a fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday at the former BBC HQ.London fire brigade (LFB) said about 100 firefighters and 15 fire engines had been called to the nine-storey building on Wood Lane shortly after 3am. Continue reading...

Steve Jones was hundreds of miles away in Maidstone arranging family funeral at time of alleged offenceA non-smoker was convicted at a magistrates court after Manchester city council accused him of dropping a cigarette butt in the city centre - even though he was hundreds of miles away, arranging a family funeral at the time.Steve Jones, a 53-year-old teacher, lives 200 miles away in Teddington, Greater London, has only been to Manchester three times, and doesn't smoke. Continue reading...

Rosemary Duckett, 80, and her husband, Anthony, 88, say situation is bureaucracy gone mad'A couple who the prime minister thanked for housing Ukrainian refugees have been told by their local council they may have to evict their current guest due to planning rules which the couple describe as bureaucracy gone mad".Rosemary Duckett, 80, a retired magistrate and former chair of her local YMCA, and her husband, Anthony, 88, have been providing accommodation in a room above their garage to Ukrainian refugees since 2022. Continue reading...

Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, known as the Iron Lady of the Pacific', likely to be replaced by leader of opposition Fast partySamoa's first female leader, Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, has failed to win a majority in the Pacific nation's elections this week, capping months of political infighting.Official results published by the electoral commission on Friday showed the opposition Fast party won 30 out of the 50 contested seats in parliament. Continue reading...

Victoria's largest reward ever offered for arrest as alpine hunt for alleged killer of two police enters 12th day

Homeland security had tried to end temporary protected status granted by the Biden administrationA federal judge on Friday ruled against the Trump administration from ending temporary legal protections that have granted more than 1 million people from Haiti and Venezuela the right to live and work in the United States.The ruling by US district judge Edward Chen of San Francisco for the plaintiffs means that 600,000 Venezuelans whose temporary protections expired in April or whose protections were about to expire on 10 September have status to stay and work in the United States. Continue reading...

Directive will make Department of War secondary title and is way to get around need for congressional approvalDonald Trump signed an executive order on Friday to rebrand the Department of Defense as the Department of War, a callback to the department's original name used from 1789 to 1947.The directive will make Department of War the secondary title, and is a way to get around the need for congressional approval to formally rename a federal agency, an administration official said. Continue reading...

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, was shot in Washington DC, and suspects, both 17, are being charged as adultsTwo teenagers were arrested Friday on murder charges in the killing of a congressional intern who was struck by stray bullets during a shooting in Washington DC - a crime that Donald Trump cited in deploying national guard troops in the US capital during the presidential administration's law enforcement intervention there.Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, of Granby, Massachusetts, was fatally shot on the night of 30 June near Washington's Mount Vernon Square. Both suspects in his killing - Kelvin Thomas Jr and Jailen Lucas - are 17 years old, but are being charged as adults with first-degree murder while armed, according to US attorney Jeanine Pirro. Continue reading...

Bajun Mavalwalla, an advocate for Afghans who supported US military in Afghanistan, faces up to six years in prisonVeterans who helped the US's Afghan allies find refuge in the US say they are outraged that a fellow veteran and advocate now faces federal conspiracy charges for his role in a protest against the Trump administration's immigration policies.Some call the arrest of former US army sergeant Bajun Mavalwalla II shameful" and un-American". Mavalwalla is part of a community of American military veterans who, in the wake of Kabul's fall to the Taliban in 2021, worked to rescue Afghans who supported the US military operations in their home country. Continue reading...

Independent tribunal told government did little to hold Israel to account and aimed to shield itself from scrutinyBritain is not just complicit in Israel's breaches of humanitarian law in Gaza but a participant that has repeatedly ignored its legal obligation to prevent a genocide, witnesses have told the independent Gaza tribunal.The two-day tribunal in London, which is independent of government and parliament, is seeking to amass evidence of Britain's failure to distance itself from what the tribunal organisers regard as Israeli war crimes amounting to genocide.RAF pilots flying from the UK Akrotiri airbase in Cyprus systematically shared intelligence in real time with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but not with the international criminal court.No 10 failed to provide the support requested by lawyers acting for James Henderson, the British World Central Kitchen aid worker killed by the IDF on 1 April 2024, leaving them reliant on an IDF internal investigation, with a coroners' inquiry still as long as two years away.Britain provided no support to the chief prosecutor at the international criminal court, Karim Khan, after the US government imposed sanctions that led a British bank to close his account, so emboldening those who seek to dismantle international accountability".The UK trade department continued to allow the import of products from Israel-occupied territories after the international court of justice in July 2024 ruled in an advisory opinion that the occupation was unlawful. Continue reading...

Man, 40, arrested over death of Sheryl Wilkins in August and rearrested over death of Carmenza Trujillo in MarchA man has been arrested on suspicion of committing two murders more than five months apart - with the second allegedly committed while he was being investigated over the first, police have said.Scotland Yard detectives said Carmenza Trujillo was found dead in south London on 17 March. The man was arrested a little more than a fortnight later, but then released while officers investigated. Police said Sheryl Wilkins died in north London on 24 August. The same man, aged 40, was arrested over both deaths on Thursday. Continue reading...

Shabana Mahmood to take over at Home Office as Angela Rayner's departure hastens sweeping reshuffle

Deputy leader election campaign will distract from Starmer's reset and winner may well come from left of partyAt 9.30am on Monday morning, as MPs made their way back to Westminster, Keir Starmer gathered the entire staff of No 10 in the Pillared Room of Downing Street to tell them they were about to enter the next, delivery, stage of government.We go into phase two in good spirits, confident and with conviction," he told them, as some of those gathered shuffled awkwardly. His remarks, after all, followed a difficult summer during which Labour vacated the pitch to Reform UK and ahead of what is likely to be an even more turbulent autumn. Continue reading...

Palace says duchess, who was married to late queen's cousin, passed away peacefully surrounded by family'The Duchess of Kent, the first Catholic convert in the royal family for centuries, who was known for presenting numerous Wimbledon trophies and consoling runners-up, has died aged 92.The duchess was married to the late queen's cousin the Duke of Kent but for decades led a separate life from him. Continue reading...

New York Times says Trump authorized mission to plant listening device; team killed fishers who had come across themUS Navy Seals shot and killed a number of North Korean civilians during a botched covert mission to plant a listening device in the nuclear-armed country during high-stakes diplomatic negotiations in 2019, the New York Times reported on Friday.Citing unidentified sources, including current and former military officials with knowledge of the still-classified details, the newspaper said Donald Trump approved the operation during his first administration, as he was involved in historic talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Continue reading...

Rayner's departure is deeply damaging to prime minister who had initially stood by her

Full text of Angela Rayner's letter to the prime minister, Keir Starmer's reply, and the response by the PM's independent ethics adviser

Portuguese investigators find no evidence of sabotage, with mechanical or maintenance issues among possible causes

The northerner whose emotional openness was an electoral asset eventually had to follow the advice she had given to Conservative rivals and quitWhen Nadhim Zahawi's fate was hanging in the balance after a scandal over unpaid taxes, Angela Rayner was one of the first to pile on the political pressure.Nadhim Zahawi's story about his tax affairs doesn't add up," she said at the time. After months of denials, the truth emerges. His position is untenable. Rishi Sunak must dismiss him from his cabinet." Continue reading...

Prolonged halt at Merseyside and West Midlands factories is tacit admission that quick resolution is unlikely

Increase of 0.3% in August marks third consecutive monthly rise, exceeding market expectations

Aid agencies plead for funds as rough terrain hinders relief effort and 98% of buildings in one province are damagedThe death toll from a major earthquake in Afghanistan this week has jumped to more than 2,200, just as another magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit the southeastern region of the country on Thursday night.On Thursday, Taliban spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat confirmed that the death toll from Sunday's earthquake had risen to 2,205 - up from previous estimates of 1,400 - making it one of the deadliest natural disasters to hit the country in decades. Continue reading...

Marianne Mair' Smyth was found guilty of swindling four people out of more than $155,000 in Northern IrelandA US podcaster and author who helped Northern Ireland authorities secure a fraud conviction on Thursday against a woman derisively known as the Queen of the Con" says he hopes the case prompts the public to realize these people are literally everywhere".Johnathan Walton said it thrills me to no end" that Marianne Mair" Smyth - who was initially convicted of scamming nearly $100,000 from him in Los Angeles by posing as the heiress to a $30m fortune - was found guilty by a Downpatrick crown court jury of swindling more than 115,000 ($155,000) from four people while working as a mortgage adviser. Continue reading...

Report from prime minister's standards adviser, Laurie Magnus, is due todayThe conveyancing firm that Angela Rayner used to complete her purchase of an 800,000 flat on the south coast has said it did not offer her tax advice and completed her stamp duty return based only on information she provided.Joanna Verrico, the head of a small, family-run firm in Kent, said on Thursday it had not provided any advice to the deputy prime minister on how much stamp duty to pay. Continue reading...

Donatella Versace says the world lost a giant today' while Victoria Beckham called him a visionary designer whose legacy will live on forever'

Buses and trains likely to be overcrowded as union members take action in row over pay and 32-hour weekStrikes by tube staff are due to start on Friday, in a series of walkouts that are expected to close the London Underground entirely for four days from Monday.Londoners have been urged to check before travel next week, with virtually no tube services expected to run and other transport in the capital likely to be affected by crowding and congestion. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Reform leader's use of television star-style arrangement is a practice criticised across the political spectrumNigel Farage is using a private company to reduce his tax bill on his GB News media appearances and other outside employment in a television star-style arrangement that has in recent years become frowned on by major broadcasters.The Reform UK leader diverts money from his prime-time TV show into his company, which means that he paid only 25% corporation tax on profits, instead of 40% income tax, and could offset some expenses. Continue reading...