World news | The Guardian

Gaza severed into two parts, says Israel, as US sends missile-carrying submarine to Middle East

Prime minister joins several senior Tories in distancing himself from home secretary's comments

Blast furnaces to make way for greener electric arc models in about three years' time

Labor duo shrug off Arctic weather in Beijing to use re-enactment of their hero's famous 1973 photo op to plot a new course out of the cold

As antisemitic incidents rise in France, far right leader's party is promising to protect French Jews from IslamismThe French far-right leader Marine Le Pen's support of Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks is being seen as part of a long-running drive to move her National Rally party away from its toxic, antisemitic past before a run for the presidency in 2027.National Rally, which is the biggest opposition party in the French parliament and is polling ahead of Emmanuel Macron's centrists for next year's European elections, has firmly supported Israel's right to defend itself since the Hamas attacks on 7 October and the ensuing bombardment of Gaza. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Tory peer and husband, Douglas Barrowman, had repeatedly denied roles in firm given 200m government Covid contractsThe Conservative peer Michelle Mone has acknowledged for the first time that she was involved with a company that was awarded government PPE contracts worth 200m during the Covid pandemic.Lady Mone's husband, Douglas Barrowman, has also acknowledged for the first time that he was involved in the company, PPE Medpro. Continue reading...

Foreign Office says situation has potential to deteriorate quickly' after Israeli and Hezbollah forces clash

Airline to pay regular dividends as finance boss says consumers are going to continue spending

MP offers sincerest apologies' for social media post and pays compensation into BMA strike fundThe Conservative deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, has apologised to a doctor after he made a misleading" social media post about him.The MP for Ashfield said he wanted to offer his sincerest apologies" to Dr Tom Dolphin for any distress caused" by his post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Continue reading...

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Police say a nine-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy, along with two of their parents, are among the five killed

The US has been racing to reopen embassies and deepen links with Pacific countries in wake of Solomon Islands security pact with China

Referendum shifted Australia in the right direction' despite failure in vote, one advocate says, as Indigenous leaders privately debate next steps

In today's newsletter: The Lebanese militant group has engaged in skirmishes with Israel following the invasion of Gaza - could it grow into full-blown war? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. It's been another remorseless weekend for the people of Gaza. On Saturday night, an Israeli air strike at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp killed at least 45 people, the Hamas-run health ministry claimed, while the head of the Al-Aqsa hospital put the toll at 52; Israel says it is investigating the incident. And late on Sunday, a series of huge explosions lit up the sky over the territory - strikes which Israeli media reports suggested were a precursor to an advance on Gaza City within the next 48 hours.About 120 miles north, exchanges across Israel's border with Lebanon continued at a much lower intensity - but with a momentum of their own. Lebanese state media said that three children and their grandmother were killed in an Israeli air strike, an incident that prompted retaliatory rocket strikes on the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. Those ongoing border skirmishes have fuelled fears of a new front involving a far more powerful regional actor than Hamas: Hezbollah.King's speech | Rishi Sunak will this week announce legislation for a new annual system for awarding oil and gas licences as part of a highly political king's speech which the Conservatives hope will open up clear dividing lines with Labour. The government, which has already watered down the UK's climate targets, said the plans would protect jobs and bolster energy security.Poverty | Poverty levels in the UK are simply not acceptable" and the government is violating international law, the United Nations' poverty envoy has said ahead of a visit to the country this week. Olivier De Schutter told the Guardian that things have got worse" since his predecessor Philip Alston angered the government with criticism on his own visit in 2019.Ukraine | Volodymyr Zelenskiy has denied a claim from the Ukrainian military's commander-in-chief that the war with Russia has reached a stalemate. Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the war had entered an attritional phase and suggested Russia was slowly gaining the upper hand.Conservatives | Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, has denied that rape allegations against a Conservative MP were covered up" during his time running the party's headquarters. It follows reports in the Mail on Sunday that allegations against an MP were not dealt with properly by the party, allowing the politician to continue offending.Israel-Hamas war | The parents-in-law of Scotland's first minister, Humza Yousaf, have arrived safely in Scotland after fleeing the conflict in Gaza. Yousaf shared a family photo of his wife, Nadia, and her parents, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, who were among 92 British nationals permitted to pass through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt on Friday morning. Continue reading...

Experts in public health say that commercial interests engage in practices harmful to health and the environment

Healthcare workers say clinics are being overwhelmed by women seeking help, amid lack of staff and facilities to back programmePregnant women across the Democratic Republic of the Congo are to be offered free healthcare in an effort to cut the country's high rates of maternal and neonatal deaths.Women in 13 out of 26 regions in the country will, by the end of the year, be entitled to free services during pregnancy and for one month after childbirth. Babies will receive free healthcare for their first 28 days under the scheme, which the government plans to extend to the rest of DRC - although there is no timetable for that yet. Continue reading...

Mehreen Faruqi leads boycott of question time to protest against claimed Albanese government inaction over conflict in Gaza

War-torn country will complete reforms required by bloc within two years, says Olga Stefanishyna before leaders' summitUkraine will have completed the reforms required to get membership of the EU within two years, the deputy prime minister has said, insisting the country does not want a sympathy vote at a looming leaders summit to decide on enlargement of the bloc.A review published on Wednesday is expected to reveal the European Commission position on whether negotiations should open or not with those countries most advanced with their accession reforms. Continue reading...

Experts say backlog increases risk of financial irregularities and risky behaviours going undetectedThe early warning system designed to identify English councils in serious financial difficulty is in crisis, with hundreds of local authorities failing to meet the legal deadline to publish audited accounts covering 100bn of public spending.The vast majority - 99% - of English councils did not have their 2022-23 financial accounts signed off by the deadline this year, which experts say is increasing the risk of financial irregularities and risky behaviours going undetected..Warrington borough councilSpelthorne borough councilSlough borough councilScarborough borough council*Rossendale borough councilLuton borough councilLondon borough of Tower HamletsHarlow district councilCopeland borough councilMerseyside Waste Disposal Authority. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, please follow our live coverage of the Israel-Hamas war here.AP is reporting that Benjamin Netanyahu has suspended heritage minister Amihai Eliyahu from cabinet meetings until further notice, after Eliyahu said dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza would be an option for Israel.Netanyahu earlier said the remark was divorced from reality", and defence minister Yoav Gallant also criticized Eliyahu, saying: It's a good thing that people like this are not in charge of Israel's security."Minister Amihai Eliyahu's statements are not based in reality. Israel and the IDF are operating in accordance with the highest standards of international law to avoid harming innocents. We will continue to do so until our victory. Continue reading...

Car carrying boys aged between 10 and 15 separated in half' after crashing into power pole with police now looking for two others who fled the scene

Police say the driver involved in the accident at the Royal Daylesford hotel on Vincent Street was breath tested and no alcohol was detected

Investment pipeline has been left in an absolute mess', minister says as spending boom fuels inflation

Chief executive describes profit result as very strong' and increase in customer stress from interest rates as modest'

Zelenskiy announces criminal inquiry after Ukrainian soldiers die in missile strike, reportedly during medal ceremony; Ukraine hits Russian warship

Matthew Caseby died after he absconded from a Priory hospital in Birmingham before being hit by a trainThe Priory healthcare group has been charged with two criminal offences over the death of a 23-year-old man who was hit by a train after absconding from a mental health hospital.Matthew Caseby, a personal trainer from London, died in September 2020 after jumping over a low fence while unattended in a courtyard at the Priory Woodbourne hospital in Birmingham, three days after being admitted. Continue reading...

Petrol bombs, fireworks and other projectiles were thrown at Scottish officers on Guy Fawkes NightAbout 100 young people were involved in clashes with police in Edinburgh on Sunday night, as petrol bombs and fireworks were thrown at officers.Riot police came under attack just before 5pm in the Niddrie area of the city, where there were also violent incidents involving young people last year. Continue reading...

Afrasiab Anwar, one of 11 councillors to resign, was among those who earlier asked party leader to step downThe leader of Burnley borough council has resigned along with 10 other councillors in protest at Keir Starmer's refusal to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.Afrasiab Anwar, who has been a member of the party for a decade, was among those who called for the Labour leader to step down last week. Continue reading...

The accident, which left two children dead, happened just after 6pm at the Royal Daylesford hotel on Vincent Street

Crisis, St Mungo's and other groups write to home secretary to say blaming people for being on the streets increases their risk of harmHomelessness charities have criticised the home secretary after she described sleeping rough as a lifestyle choice", sparking a widespread backlash.Organisations including Crisis, Centrepoint, St Mungo's and Pathway responded to Suella Braverman's purported plans to crack down on the pitching of tents in urban areas, which she largely blamed on individuals from abroad". Continue reading...

Conservatives hope plans will open up clear dividing lines with Labour and protect thousands of jobsRishi Sunak will this week announce legislation for a new annual system for awarding oil and gas licences as part of a highly political king's speech which the Conservatives hope will open up clear dividing lines with Labour.The government said the plans would protect thousands of jobs and bolster energy security, reducing the UK's reliance on imports from hostile foreign regimes such as Russia, even though the UK has committed to move away from fossil fuels. Continue reading...

The singer's fellow finalists included Matt Hancock, who was recognised for being really good at lying'Singer Gareth Gates has won this year's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins series, in a final where his competitor - the former health secretary Matt Hancock - was recognised for being really good at lying".Gates, who found fame on the TV talent show Pop Idol, made it to the final of the Channel 4 military-style series alongside Hancock, the TV personality Danielle Lloyd, the Olympic track and field athlete Perri Shakes-Drayton and the Love Island star Teddy Soares. Continue reading...

British nationals say dependants trying to leave conflict zone via the Rafah crossing have been left off Foreign Office lists

The prime minister will visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Monday morning before a significant meeting with China's president, Xi Jinping

Huge explosions reported in Gaza Strip, and communities in northern Israel come under mortar and rocket fire from Hezbollah

While there is broad consensus on the need for a break in hostilities, people are divided on its extent, its duration, and how to label it

Palestinian human rights groups allege Israel may be using Australian technology in serious human rights abuses

Ukraine president says it would take 24 minutes to explain to former US president that he cannot manage the warThe war's death toll continues to climb, with the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces saying on Sunday there had been 990 casualties among Russian forces in the past 24 hours, taking Moscow's total casualties - of dead and injured - in the war to 305,090.According to US estimates, Russia has seen around 120,000 deaths and 180,000 injured. Continue reading...

Cost and difficulties of balancing work and childcare has led one in 10 to quit, says Fawcett SocietyAbout a quarter of a million mothers with young children have left their jobs because of difficulties with balancing work and childcare, according to a report by an equal rights charity that calls for the end of the motherhood penalty".This juggling act, as well as the punitive cost, has led more than 249,124 working mothers of children aged four or under to leave their employer, according to the Fawcett Society. Continue reading...

The El-Naklas left Gaza on Friday but other British citizens are struggling to get outThe parents-in-law of Scotland's first minister, Humza Yousaf, have arrived safely in Scotland after fleeing the conflict in Gaza, while dozens of other British citizens struggle to leave.Yousaf shared a family photo of his wife, Nadia, and her parents, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, surrounded by their relatives. Continue reading...

Unpopular and incompetent, the West Bank's leaders have little to offer in a day after' scenario, despite Antony Blinken's hopes

US's top diplomat discusses efforts to restore calm in West Bank with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas

Exclusive: Special rapporteur Olivier De Schutter to urge ministers to increase welfare spending on visit to country this weekPoverty levels in the UK are simply not acceptable" and the government is violating international law, the United Nations' poverty envoy has said ahead of a visit to the country this week, when he will urge ministers to increase welfare spending.Olivier De Schutter, the UN's special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, cited research showing universal credit payments of 85 a week for single adults over 25 were grossly insufficient" and described the UK's main welfare system as a leaking bucket". Continue reading...

Dozens of rallies held and some family members say government must start negotiations with Hamas

Exclusive: Regulator extends part suspension of licence to July 2024 after IT blunder led to incorrect dosage of cancer treatmentA private health company paid millions by the NHS has failed to fix safety defects that led to the death of a cancer patient, the Guardian can reveal.Three patients were hospitalised and a fourth died when they were given the wrong doses of a powerful chemotherapy drug after a catastrophic IT failure at the medicine manufacturing unit of Sciensus in April this year. Continue reading...

Police called to farm in Scotland after after scary' visit by by animal rights protestersPolice have been called to a farm in Scotland where Britain's loneliest sheep" was due to be taken following her rescue from the foot of a cliff, after animal rights activists were accused of intimidating staff.The volunteer group Animal Rising took part in a peaceful protest outside Dalscone Farm Fun over the expected arrival of Fiona, who was rescued by a group of farmers on Saturday after two years stuck at the foot of a cliff. Continue reading...

Veteran pop artist excited by the medium after he uses it for performance art installation' in Hong KongWhile artists are among those who fear the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on their creativity and copyright, pop artist Sir Peter Blake has been inspired by the technology to create a new series of portraits.At the age of 91, he has been collaborating with a robot powered by AI and is excited by the artistic possibilities of this kind of magic". Continue reading...

President says Ukraine must keep fighting, and aide says general's comments make aggressor's job easier'

Eco tariffs' would not, however, be offered to those vulnerable customers already on lower, social' ratesConsumers in Cornwall and Devon will be offered cheaper bills in return for cutting their water use as the region struggles to cope with a rise in the number of new residents who work from home.From next year, South West Water (SWW) - which was fined in April for dumping sewage illegally into rivers and the sea - will offer residents new tariffs designed to encourage reducing water use amid concerns about the strain caused by increased numbers of tourists and home workers. Continue reading...

Greens unveil policy designed to freeze rents at January 2023 levels in battle for Brisbane city council