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Much-delayed 38.6m project brings works from 1800 to 1945 together for the first time as single collectionA suite of new galleries built to present work by many of Scotland's most famous artists, including the Glasgow Boys, Phoebe Anna Traquair and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, opens to the public this week.For the first time, the galleries in Edinburgh will showcase significant pieces of Scottish art held by National Galleries Scotland in a single collection, after a much-delayed construction project that involved digging out new space beside the Mound in the city centre. Continue reading...

Co-operative enterprise Vale of Aeron is one of 45 projects to receive money in Community Ownership Fund's latest roundWhen Iwan Thomas received the news that he had won a 300,000 grant for the Vale of Aeron, a pub adored by the poet Dylan Thomas when he lived nearby in the 1940s, he was working a shift but had to hold his tongue.Thomas, the 53-year-old chair of the Menter Tafarn y Vale co-operative group that runs the pub, could not tell any of the regulars until the news embargo lifted. There was certainly a wry smile, where you know you've got something you're keeping a secret, but it's a good secret," he said. We're delighted." Continue reading...

The home affairs minister Clare O'Neil said she was aware' of reporting by Nine of the texts, which include comments about political figures

Centre-left entrepreneur wins 56.69% of vote in stunning and unprecedented rise from nowhere'Stefanos Kasselakis, an outsider with no previous experience of politics in Greece, has emerged the victor of an electric race to lead the leftwing Syriza, the country's main opposition party.The Greek-American entrepreneur, who announced his candidacy for the post barely four weeks ago, attained 56.69% of the vote against 43.31% for Efi Achtsioglou, a former labour minister who had long been viewed as the favourite. Kasselakis' win now makes him one of the most powerful people in Greece. Continue reading...

Governing body suppressed personal apology from judge in question following incident 18 months agoGymnastics Ireland suppressed a personal apology letter to young gymnast whose treatment at a medal ceremony sparked international outrage, and have refused to acknowledge or tackle systemic racism in the sport, her family say.Video of the event in March 2022 shows a judge handing out participation medals to a line of young gymnasts, but ignoring the only black girl. A photographer, coach and other officials look on without intervening. There is an audience hundreds strong in the stands. Continue reading...

Police confirm arrest of 31-year-old, after a mother left a family assessment centre with two infants on TuesdayA woman has been arrested after two children missing for five days from a centre for vulnerable mothers and children in London were found safe and well" in Essex, police have said.Jamie-Leigh Kelly, 31, left a family assessment centre in north-west London on Tuesday with her three-year-old daughter and newborn baby boy. Continue reading...

Officers in Greater London's police force have put down weapons in protest at colleague's murder chargeThe Metropolitan police has called on the SAS to provide counter-terrorism support after firearms officers downed their weapons in protest at the charging of their colleague with murder.Suella Braverman ordered a review of armed policing to calm a growing rebellion of about 100 officers over the charging on Wednesday of an officer for the murder of 24-year-old Chris Kaba, an unarmed man killed last September by a single shot to the head. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Major donor questioning ability to continue support' for party amid doubt over Birmingham to Manchester legA prominent Conservative donor has threatened to stop supporting the party if Rishi Sunak scraps the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2, as ministers consider pulling the plug on the multibillion-pound project.Fears that phase 2 of the high-speed rail line could be junked were compounded on Sunday when Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said it would be crazy" not to review the plan in light of spiralling costs. Continue reading...

Designer revisits his lifelong interest in science, with iridescent silks and undulating 3D layersGiorgio Armani may be the world's most recognisable designer, but as the 89-year-old wrote in his autobiography, his childhood ambition was to be a physician.While that particular goal eluded him, at his fashion show in Milan on Sunday afternoon he revisited his lifelong interest in science, citing his inspiration for his new collection as vibrations". Continue reading...

Watchdog thought to be including guidance on its fit and proper' test for non-financial misconductThe City watchdog is proposing to toughen its fit and proper persons" test to crack down on workplace misconduct in an effort to make the finance industry a safer work environment for women.In a consultation paper to be published on Monday, the Financial Conduct Authority will put forward stricter rules against abusers and regulated firms that may have failed to punish offenders. Continue reading...

Civilians forbidden from being on streets and public places from 11pm until 4am, with mass events banned

Exclusive: Party also calls for an investigation into issues' with the Cabinet Office's inquiry sign-off processBoris Johnson should pay back his taxpayer-funded legal fees for the Partygate inquiry and an investigation into issues" with the Cabinet Office's sign-off process should be launched, Labour has said.Pat McFadden, the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said the 265,000 bill should be looked into after a critical report was published this week by the National Audit Office. Continue reading...

Consumer body says vulnerable households face postcode lottery', with each firm setting its own tariffMinisters and under-fire water companies are facing renewed pressure to introduce a single social tariff to support vulnerable households as struggling consumers face an unfair postcode lottery" when paying their bills.At present, water companies in England and Wales all offer their own social tariffs, which provide discounts to hard-up consumers. However, some schemes are far more generous than others. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Figures seen by the Guardian show lengthy wait times for diagnostic tests such as ultrasound and CT scansSome patients in England are waiting up to two-and-a-half years for important diagnostic tests such as ultrasound, MRI and CT scans, according to figures seen by the Guardian.The longest waits were two-and-a-half years for an MRI scan, almost two years for an ultrasound and a year for a CT scan, responses to freedom of information requests by the Liberal Democrats show. Continue reading...

Academics say late queen's letters and diaries should be preserved in full by the National ArchivesQueen Elizabeth II's personal letters and diaries should be preserved in full in the National Archives, a leading academic has said.Paul Whybrew, a retired footman and one of the late queen's closest aides, has been appointed to sort through her private papers before they are transferred to the royal archive in Windsor, according to the Mail on Sunday. Continue reading...

Approach mirrors recent byelection successes but has some members at conference expressing concernThe Liberal Democrats plan to rigidly focus their election campaign on ultra-local efforts in target seats, and worry less about getting a national narrative across, a decision that has caused disquiet at the party's conference.The tactic, being finalised by party campaigners, would prioritise the ground war" of mobilising supporters and bespoke messaging in a few dozen seats, at the expense of an air war" to set out a broader vision for the party. Continue reading...

Officials plan to evacuate thousands of displaced people from region after Azerbaijani military offensiveThe first several hundred refugees from war-torn Nagorno-Karabakh have crossed into Armenian territory, as a historic evacuation begins that could lead to a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians as Azerbaijan appears on the brink of taking control of the breakaway region.They are the first civilians to have crossed from Nagorno-Karabakh into Armenia in nearly a year, reuniting families after a 10-month blockade and an intensive Azerbaijan military offensive this week that has left hundreds dead, wounded, or missing. Continue reading...

Grant Shapps says Rishi Sunak prepared to take difficult long-term decision' when asked about future of HS2 rail project. This live blog is closedIn Manchester, the first buses to be brought back into public control in England since deregulation in the 1980s have begun their first services.Darren Jones, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said the Labour party would love to see HS2 being built in full" but that it was not going to make decisions about national interest projects that involve tens of billions of pounds without all of the information being available". Continue reading...

Around 40,000 gather at rally in Madrid over potential pardon for activists, ahead of vote to decide election resultsAt least 40,000 people gathered in Madrid on Sunday to protest over a possible amnesty for people who took part in a failed push for Catalan independence six years ago, whichthrew Spain into its worst political crisis in decades.The divisive issue of an amnesty arose after July's inconclusive general election. The conservative People's party (PP) finished first, defeating the governing Spanish Socialist Workers' party (PSOE) but falling well short of an overall majority. Continue reading...

Some of tested products contained toxic chemicals known to harm health as $6.8m state crackdown announced

Exclusive: More than a dozen civil servants from different departments have moved to party in past 18 months

Volodymyr Zelenskiy gives awards to Polish volunteers but does not meet officials amid strained relations with Warsaw

Home secretary says police mustn't fear ending up in the dock' as some officers withdraw from firearms dutySuella Braverman has ordered a review of armed policing after a number of Metropolitan police officers stepped back from firearms duties after an officer was charged with murder over a shooting.The home secretary said firearms officers have to make split-second decisions" and mustn't fear ending up in the dock for carrying out their duties". Continue reading...

Kurti claims EU special envoy to talks has lost neutrality and there is no moving further with this method'EU-brokered talks between Kosovo and Serbia have become so one-sided that they have reached a dead end, Kosovo's prime minister has said.More than a decade of European-led mediation efforts, most recently in Moldova and Brussels, have failed to normalise relations between the two countries, and Belgrade still refuses to recognise Kosovo's independence, declared in 2008 under a UN-sponsored plan. Continue reading...

Patients have been left confused and frustrated with no centralised system for obtaining medicinesChanges to the way Covid treatments are obtained by those most at risk from the disease could lead to a postcode lottery" for access, experts have said, with charities warning patients have been left confused and frustrated by the new system.Previously, people eligible for Covid treatments in England were contacted by their local Covid Medicines Delivery Unit (CMDU) once they reported testing positive for the virus. Continue reading...

Putin seen playing table tennis and accompanying then mayor of St Petersburg on fishing tripVideo footage has emerged showing an awkward-looking Vladimir Putin wearing a shell suit and sporting a longer haircut on a visit to Finland during the early 1990s.The Finnish broadcaster YLE obtained the previously unseen amateur film from an anonymous source. It was shot on a May Day holiday soon after Putin - then about 40 and a KGB officer - had become an adviser to Anatoly Sobchak, the mayor of St Petersburg at the time. Continue reading...

The very personal work, owned by Charles I, discovered after being left in storage for yearsA woman's name raises doubts until her work is seen," wrote the artist Artemisia Gentileschi to a collector of her paintings in 1649, going on to assure him that her canvases will speak for themselves". It took three-and-a-half centuries for the name of Gentileschi to triumphantly step out from the shadows of art history, but it has taken even longer for one of her forgotten paintings to re-emerge from the dark. A remarkable find made in a royal storeroom at Hampton Court, followed by hours of careful conservation effort, has led to the unearthing of Susanna and the Elders, a genuine lost Gentileschi.It really is super-exciting," Anna Reynolds, the deputy surveyor of the king's pictures, told the Observer. You just could not see the quality of the painting beneath the grime until now, but absolutely it is true and this find has come about as a result of Artemisia's recently restored reputation. It had been misattributed and left in storage for many years and no one had taken a closer look." Continue reading...

Japan hopes the fair in 2025 will reconnect it with the global community after Covid but calls are growing to delay or scrap the eventIn the distance, beyond the clouds of sand kicked up by a coastal wind and passing lorries, the centrepiece of Osaka's plan to reconnect the world" is finally taking shape.When completed, huge sections of timber will form an enormous walkway encircling a forest of tranquillity" and pavilions showcasing the history, culture and technology of more than 130 countries, with the host, Japan, at its heart. Continue reading...

Alleged incident took place at 11.40am on Sunday at Nightcliff markets, close to her electorate office

After the row that led to Richard Sharp's exit, a more rigorous selection process is now in placeCandidates for the top job at the BBC will be subject to greater scrutiny than ever in an effort to avoid a repeat of the conflict of interest row that led to its chair Richard Sharp resigning in April, the Observer has learned.Sharp left after failing to declare a connection to a secret 800,000 loan for ex-prime minister Boris Johnson. Continue reading...

Event organisers say it's crunch time' for pope as scandal and bigotry drive Church members to leaveThey make up more than half its membership, they have been denied a say for centuries in the way it is run: but, early next month, women will gather in Rome for a process that they hope can bring the Catholic church's thinking on female equality into the 21st century.The central event is a mass listening exercise announced by Pope Francis in 2021, the synod on synodality. Its delegates will meet in Rome throughout October to discern the future direction of key issues in the church; and at the forefront of soundings already taken across the 1.3 billion-strong Catholic church across the globe has been the role of women. Continue reading...

Homeless charity Crisis says thousands of people stuck in unsuitable temporary accommodation could be given a home if politicians took stronger actionAlmost a quarter of a million properties in England have been left empty for months, according to new analysis seen by the Observer, prompting calls for many of them to be used to ease the escalating homelessness crisis.The number of properties deemed as long-term empty has increased by 24% over the past six years. Housing experts said tens of thousands could be repurposed as affordable homes if politicians took stronger action. There is now a record number of households trapped in temporary accommodation, while social housing waiting lists top 1.2 million. Properties are generally deemed to be long-term empty after being unoccupied and unfurnished for at least six months, while the owners continue to owe council tax. Continue reading...

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The leader says his party is focusing on the NHS and protecting pensions to woo Conservatives in rural heartlandsThe Liberal Democrats are planning to open two fronts against the Conservatives in their traditional heartlands, with a campaign focused on NHS waiting lists and a pledge to protect the pensions triple lock.In an interview with the Observer, Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said that the scale of support his party had been receiving from lifelong Tory voters meant that there was now no Tory seat in either the blue wall" or the Conservatives' rural heartlands that was safe. Continue reading...

Philippines says it strongly condemns' move at Scarborough Shoal which prevents its fishing boats from gaining accessThe Philippines has accused China's coast guard of installing a floating barrier" in a disputed area of the South China Sea, saying it prevented Filipinos from entering and fishing in the area.Manila's coast guard and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources strongly condemn" China's installation of the barrier in part of the Scarborough Shoal, Commodore Jay Tarriela, a coast guard spokesperson, posted on the X social media platform, formerly Twitter. Continue reading...

Speaking at the same Yes23 campaign launch in Sydney, Julian Leeser says Australians aren't a perfect people ... but are good-hearted'

Human rights lawyers are working with Ukraine's public prosecutor to prepare dossier to submit to the international criminal courtHuman rights lawyers working with Ukraine's public prosecutor are preparing a war crimes dossier to submit to the international criminal court (ICC) accusing Russia of deliberately causing starvation during the 18-month-long conflict.The aim is to document instances where the Russian invaders used hunger as a weapon of war, providing evidence for the ICC to launch the first prosecution of its kind that could indict the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...

Emergency services minister says service would likely be voluntary as government wouldn't want to commit to obliging people or forcing them'

Five of afro-trap' pioneer's fellow defendants also imprisoned over killing in what prosecutors said was a fight between rival gangsFrench rapper MHD has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the 2018 murder of a young man in Paris who was rammed with a car before being set upon by a mob and stabbed.Five of his fellow defendants were also jailed over the killing, receiving terms of between 10 and 18 years over what prosecutors said was a fight between rival gangs. Three other men were acquitted. Continue reading...

US says it is disappointed prime minister Manasseh Sogavare will not attend Monday's summit, amid race for influence with ChinaThe White House has said it is disappointed the Solomon Islands prime minister, Manasseh Sogavare, will not attend a Pacific Islands summit with Joe Biden next week.The US president will host a second summit with leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum at the White House on Monday as part of his efforts to step up engagement with a region where the US is in a battle for influence with China. Continue reading...

No 10 plays down speculation PM would reduce rate of tax, which only affects around 4% of deaths a yearRishi Sunak is reportedly considering an inheritance tax cut as he attempts to woo voters and create dividing lines with Labour, who are comfortably ahead in the polls.The plans would make way for the eventual scrapping of the levy, the Sunday Times has reported. Continue reading...

Armenians in region have been without adequate food or fuel supplies for months due to blockade by Azerbaijani forcesA Red Cross aid convoy headed to Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday, the first since Azerbaijan retook the breakaway region three days ago, as ethnic Armenians there complained of being abandoned by the world.The Armenians of Karabakh, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, were forced to declare a ceasefire on 20 September after a lightning 24-hour military operation by the much larger Azerbaijani military. Continue reading...

At least 70 police firearms officers are reconsidering carrying a gun after marksman to go on trial over death of Chris KabaDozens of Metropolitan police firearms officers are refusing to go out on armed patrols after one of their colleagues was charged with murder.More than 70 police marksmen said they want time to consider whether or not they wish to still carry a gun given their colleague is facing a murder charge. Continue reading...

March comes day after man was attacked by dog in a park in Walworth, south LondonHundreds of demonstrators have marched in central London protesting against the prime minister's proposed ban on American XL bully dogs.During the march on Saturday, they held placards with messages such as don't bully our bullies" and chanted save our bullies", while one person was pictured wearing a T-shirt that said muzzle Rishi Sunak don't bully our breed". Continue reading...

Celebrities lend their voices to kick the Tories out' as the party gathers in Bournemouth for the first time in three yearsThe Liberal Democrats have kicked off their annual conference with a call for people to vote tactically in the general election to remove Conservative MPs, until proportional representation makes this unnecessary.Gathering in Bournemouth for their first autumn get-together since 2019, a conference rally heard video addresses from Carol Vorderman and Steve Coogan. Neither are party members but they said people should vote in a way to ensure Tory candidates lost. Continue reading...

Russian foreign minister says Zelenskiy's 10-point proposal to end the war and resumption of exports from Black Sea are not realistic'Russia's foreign minister has told the UN that Ukraine's proposed peace plan and the latest proposals to revive the Black Sea grain initiative were not realistic".Sergei Lavrov spoke at a press conference on 23 September after a week of intense global diplomacy at the annual gathering of world leaders at UN headquarters in New York where Ukraine and its western allies sought to drum up support for Kyiv. Continue reading...

Sergei Lavrov rules out any moves at compromise in speech that also addresses Nagorno-Karabakh dispute

Exclusive: Labour leader pledges party would stand strong on the UK's climate commitments' in contrast to Sunak's net zero reversalThe UK Labour party leader, Keir Starmer, is calling for action to transform the nation into a clean energy superpower after the British Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak's announcement earlier this week of new reversals and delays to net zero commitments.In a video address that organisers of the Global Citizen Festival (GCF) plan to play on Saturday afternoon at an event in New York City, Starmer said: The world is facing serious threats from extreme poverty to criminal gangs to climate change. Only progressive internationalist politics can rise to these challenges and deliver a secure future. Continue reading...

Detonation took place at security checkpoint in Beledweyne, killing at least 18 peopleAn explosives-laden vehicle detonated at a security checkpoint in the central Somalia city of Beledweyne on Saturday, killing at least 18 people and wounding 40 others, authorities have said.Abdirahman Dahir Gure, the interior minister of Hirshabelle state, announced the toll to journalists. Continue reading...

English and Scottish walkers meet in mass trespass to call for greater public access to land in England and Wales, like the more generous laws of ScotlandFlag-waving activists for land reform have expressed their demands for greater freedom to roam in England and Wales by staging a symbolic trespass through farmland on the Scottish border.In a bid to highlight Scotland's far more generous rights of access to the countryside, around 40 campaigners tramped through boggy, dense woodland to arrive at an earth dyke north of Carlisle which once marked the medieval border. Continue reading...