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Matthew Dowd tells Katie Couric ex-employer concurred but it didn't matter' and they dismissed him anywayThe political analyst fired by MSNBC over his Charlie Kirk commentary says his former employer agreed with him that his remarks were being misconstrued as insensitive" - but said it didn't matter" to the network, and they dismissed him anyway.I said: I think you guys are making a huge mistake,'" Matthew Dowd recounted on Katie Couric's podcast in an episode launched Friday that addressed his purported pre-firing discussions with MSNBC. I said: You know and I know that's not anything what I meant. You know it's been misconstrued,' and they agreed with that. Continue reading...

Officials fear widespread unrest amid violence and intimidation of ethnic minoritiesNorthern Ireland faces a permacrisis" from recurring race riots and may need to use military bases to shelter people burnt out of their homes, government documents reveal.Officials fear the region faces prolonged instability and that a single incident, local or international, could spark widespread disorder. Continue reading...

Chancellor's invitation criticised as strange timing' with Treasury looking at whether to raise duties on 12bn sectorThe chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has been urged to cancel plans to be the guest of honour at an event hosted by the chief lobbyist of the gambling industry while the Treasury is in the midst of a review of taxes on the 12bn sector.Reeves is slated to appear at a private reception" for business leaders, organised by the corporate communications company Brunswick, at the forthcoming Labour party conference in Liverpool. Continue reading...

MP says she faced baseless attacks' over paid membership portal, which Corbyn told supporters not to useZarah Sultana has consulted defamation lawyers after her public spat with Jeremy Corbyn over the launch of a paid membership system for the party they were to co-lead.Sultana said she has been on the receiving end of politically motivated" attacks amid the row that has engulfed the launch of Your party. Corbyn had previously urged people not to use the supposed membership portal", and said legal advice was being taken over its launch. Continue reading...

Case against Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry was suddenly dropped, leaving questions for CPSShortly before 10am on Monday, the Conservative MP Alicia Kearns received an unwelcome phone call. I don't know how to tell you this," said the specialist police officer on the line. Ten minutes later the Old Bailey heard what Kearns now knew. A long-awaited trial of two men - a former parliamentary aide to Kearns, Christopher Cash, and an associate, Christopher Berry - accused of spying for China was to be abandoned. The cops were equally disappointed," Kearns told the Guardian.The trial had been expected to be an extraordinary test of London's already fraught relationship with Beijing. Scheduled to begin at Woolwich crown court on 6 October, it had been expected to hear allegations that politically sensitive" information was passing from Westminster to a member of China's ruling politburo. Continue reading...

Three people arrested from car on M6 after shootings that left one man in critical conditionFour people have been shot at a Birmingham nightclub, leaving one person in a critical condition.West Midlands police said one man remained in hospital, while the other three - two men and a woman - were being treated for less serious injuries after the incident at Mango nightclub in Bristol Street at about 3am on Saturday. Continue reading...

Plans to improve the world heritage site for tourists put its living culture at risk, say locals and campaignersBy noon, the sun is high over Petra, bleaching the coloured sandstone cliffs and temporarily emptying its celebrated ruins of tourists. Vines and a canopy keep the terrace of Mohammed Feras s cave home cool despite the searing summer heat rising from the rocky valley.I have lived here all my life. I've never been anywhere else and I cannot imagine not living here. This area is part of who I am and I cannot leave it," the 44-year-old farmer and sometime tourist guide said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Regent Sounds recording studio in London to be turned into landmark site for rock'n'roll, jazz and bluesThe Regent Sounds recording studio on Tin Pan Alley" in London was famously used by Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and the Rolling Stones between the 1960s and early 1980s. Now, having been walled up and lain silent for decades, it is being brought back to life through a multimillion-pound investment that will turn it into a landmark site for rock'n'roll, jazz and blues, the Guardian has learned.Much of the original walls, floor tiles and recording equipment have been preserved from a studio that Pete Townshend, The Who's guitarist and songwriter, once described as a massive chunk of rock music history". Continue reading...

Financial experts express alarm after jump in sums people taking out of retirement pots amid jitters' about taxOlder savers should avoid making rash decisions about their pension cash based on fear and rumour", experts urged this week.The warning came as figures showed a rise in the sums people were pulling out of their retirement pots. Continue reading...

Former PM, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and conference chair Warren Mundine among right faction heavyweights urging conservative voters to unite

Emergency calls were offline for nearly fourteen hours, during which three people died - including an eight-week-old baby

Integrated care boards in England cannot afford severance payments, leaving restructuring plan in chaos, union saysLabour's radical reorganisation of the NHS has descended into chaos, a union has said, as a huge programme of job cuts has been halted amid a row over who will foot the 1bn bill.The NHS's 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) in England were due to make up to 12,500 of their 25,000 staff redundant by the end of the year as a result of health service cost-cutting. Continue reading...

From reduced hunger to a changing palate, weight loss jabs can alter our experience and enjoyment of foodThe revelation that the chef Heston Blumenthal has created a tasting menu for people on weight loss jabs may have raised eyebrows, but there is scientific evidence that drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro not only make you less hungry, but change what you want to eat.So what do we know about how weight loss medications affect your relationship with food? Continue reading...

Israeli military says aid infrastructure could be targeted after order to all Gaza residents and inhabitants' to leaveHumanitarian workers in northern Gaza have been repeatedly warned by the Israeli military that only hospitals will be considered protected sites and all other aid infrastructure could be targeted.In messages and conversations with aid workers in recent days seen by the Guardian, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said an order to all Gaza residents and inhabitants" to evacuate Gaza City, the biggest urban centre in the territory, applied to all humanitarian locations [there], except hospitals" and warned that to defeat Hamas [Israeli troops] will operate ... with great force". Continue reading...

Held since 2020, India's most prominent political prisoner has become a symbol of repression under the Modi regimeThere is indeed something about captivity that makes one feel like a state of somewhere between life and death," wrote Umar Khalid in June in a letter penned as his fifth year languishing behind bars approached.Few understand the purgatory of jail like Khalid. For five years - since his arrest in September 2020 under a draconian terrorism law - he has remained India's most prominent political prisoner, to many a potent symbol of the systematic crushing of dissent under the dominant Hindu nationalist regime of the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Continue reading...

Peter Malinauskas criticised the telco for its communications after two people in South Australia and one in Western Australia died during the network upgrade

Rising wages and costs of having to dig deeper for minerals - not royalty payments - are behind job cuts in a sector that appears to be in decline

At least two protesters arrested as Democratic congressional candidate condemns violent abuse of power'

Russia denies what EU calls dangerous provocation' after Italian air force heads off three MiG-31s over Gulf of FinlandNato has intercepted three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets that violated Estonia's airspace over the Baltic Sea in a 12-minute incursion, calling it proof of Moscow's reckless" behaviour.The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, a former Estonian prime minister, accused Moscow of an extremely dangerous provocation" and said the latest Russian violation of Nato's eastern borders further escalates tensions in the region". Continue reading...

Trump's statement suggests preliminary agreement between leaders in the first direct contact between them since JuneDonald Trump said on Friday that he and Xi Jinping had agreed to approve a deal over TikTok.He approved the TikTok deal," Trump said about Xi to reporters in the Oval Office, suggesting the leaders signed off on a preliminary agreement. But Trump offered no details about the agreement or when it would be signed. Continue reading...

Figure amounts to a $60bn fall by 2030 any any future scenario of emissions reduction in Australia, modelling predicts

Stuart Latham admitted 49 offences in one of UK's biggest online child sexual abuse casesAn abhorrent" Snapchat predator has been jailed for 14 years for raping a 12-year-old girl and exploiting dozens of others in one of the UK's biggest online child sexual abuse investigations.Stuart Latham, 22, is believed to have solicited explicit images from hundreds of girls, most aged between 11 and 13, on social media over the space of a year. Continue reading...

Body found in field hours after search near Wisborough Green as police rule out foul playA man has died after falling from a hot air balloon in West Sussex.Emergency services carried out an extensive search for the man involving police drones and dogs after receiving reports of the incident near Newpound Common, in Wisborough Green, shortly after 9am on Friday. Continue reading...

Singer cancels shows in Connecticut and Massachusetts out of abundance of caution', days after threat also issued in OttawaMorrissey has cancelled two shows in the US over a credible threat on his life", according to his official Facebook page.The former Smiths singer, 66, was due to appear at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, on Friday night, and at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday. Continue reading...

Celeste Rivas, 15, identified by Los Angeles officials after body discovered inside vehicle in Hollywood tow lotA decomposed body found inside an impounded Tesla that reportedly belonged to the singer d4vd has been identified as that of a teenage girl who went missing more than a year ago.The Los Angeles county medical examiner's office confirmed that the body found inside the vehicle at a tow lot in Hollywood on 8 September was that of Celeste Rivas, 15. Continue reading...

Trump had refused to grant visas for Palestinian delegation due to attend conference and UN general assemblyThe United Nations general assembly has voted to allow the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to address next week's annual gathering of world leaders next week in New York via video link after Donald Trump said he would not give him a US visa.The resolution received 145 votes in favour and five votes against, while six countries abstained. Continue reading...

Several Democrats who opposed the measure said they condemned Kirk's murder, but could not support his speechThe killing of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week has triggered a wave of political disquiet in Washington, with some House Democrats fearing a messaging trap over a Republican resolution to honor him while other lawmakers worry about the broader political temperature following government pressure on broadcasters.Democrats ultimately decided to side with the Republicans to pass the resolution, with 95 Democrats in support. Fifty-eight Democrats opposed it, 38 voted present and 22 did not vote. Continue reading...

IDF tells residents of Gaza City to flee south but closes Salah al-Din road evacuation routePakistan's defence minister says his nation's nuclear programme will be made available" to Saudi Arabia if needed under the countries' new defence pact, marking the first specific acknowledgment that Islamabad had put the kingdom under its nuclear umbrella.Defence minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif's comments underline the importance of the pact struck this week between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which have had military ties for decades, AP reports.I welcome the excellent cooperation with the Palestinian Authority. We are working together to ensure his swift extradition.This is another step forward for justice and truth. My thoughts are with all the families who have endured the pain of waiting for so long. Continue reading...

Committee to conclude review of bill by 7 November. This live blog is closedThe UK is preparing to recognise the state of Palestine imminently, after Israel failed to meet conditions that would have postponed the historic step, including a ceasefire in Gaza, Patrick Wintour reports.YouGov has relased polling today suggesting that Britons are in favour of this by more than two to one, although a large minority of people do not have a view. Continue reading...

Court fines publisher after Milo Rau falsely claimed that far-right former chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache sang a song ridiculing the six million Jews murdered by the NazisA Swiss theatre director known for re-enacting landmark trials has been told by a judge in Vienna that his publisher must withdraw a book in which he alleged that a far-right Austrian politician sang a song mocking the victims of the Holocaust.On Thursday, Vienna's regional court fined independent German publishing house Verbrecher Verlag 1,500 (1,300) for publishing a book in which Milo Rau alleged that Heinz-Christian Strache, the former leader of the Freedom party (FPO), once sang a song with the line: We'll manage the seventh million", a reference to the approximately 6 million European Jews murdered at the hands of the Nazi regime. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Party investigates Northumberland councillor John Allen over alleged YouTube postsReform UK has suspended one of its councillors while the party investigates him over alleged online comments about wanting to kill Keir Starmer.The suspension came after the party was presented with details indicating that John Allen, a Reform UK Northumberland county councillor, had posted comments online about wanting to shoot the prime minister. Continue reading...

Harris' memoir, 107 Days, includes her thoughts about the Pennsylvania governor and former transport secretary as potential running matesJosh Shapiro has said Kamala Harris will have to answer" for why she did not publicly alert people to Joe Biden's declining ability to serve during his term in the White House.The Democratic Pennsylvania governor was a candidate to become Harris's running mate when she replaced Biden as the Democratic party nominee for president late in the 2024 campaign after the president dropped his re-election bid, but narrowly lost out to Minnesota governor Tim Walz - whom Harris dishes on in her new book. Continue reading...

FCA review finds motorists were short-changed when their vehicle was stolen or written off

Richard Moore said Russia was unlikely to win on battlefield, as his agency launched call to recruit spies

Employers and officials are cracking down on comments considered inappropriate' after far-right activist was killedIn the aftermath of far-right activist Charlie Kirk's assassination, dozens across the United States have been fired, suspended or disciplined over social media posts about Kirk and his death, as employers and public officials crack down on remarks they deem inappropriate".After Kirk, 31, was shot and killed on 10 September while speaking at Utah Valley University, members of the Trump administration called on the public to expose anyone appearing to be celebrating" his killing. Continue reading...

Police seek white male suspect and are treating incident as a hate crime after traumatised' victim hit three timesA nine-year-old girl was shot with an airgun in what is being treated as a racially aggravated assault in Bristol, said police, who have increased patrols in the area.The victim, who has been left traumatised", was hit three times by a pellet and the white male suspect, thought to be 17 to 18 years old, shouted racially abusive language at the girl, Avon and Somerset police said. Continue reading...

Graffiti was found in area accessible only to officers and staff at Charing Cross police station in late AugustThe Metropolitan police have launched a criminal investigation into one of their own police stations after racist graffiti was found daubed on a wall to which only officers and staff have access.Graffiti containing the N-word is alleged to have been found written on a toilet wall at Charing Cross police station in central London. It was spotted and reported by an officer on 29 August, just after Notting Hill carnival. Continue reading...

Active clubs' are capitalizing on assassination of far-right commentator to entice recruits with promises of vengeanceThe same American-born neo-fascist fight clubs surging in numbers across the US and around the world, have capitalized on the assassination of far-right commentator Charlie Kirk, to entice new recruits with promises of vengeance and racist camaraderie.These so-called active clubs" are a loose collective of neo-Nazi mixed martial arts groups that gather at local gyms and parks to train, tapping into existing gangs of white nationalists or adjacent organizations. Global authorities view them as perhaps one of the most organized and pernicious domestic terrorism threats, emanating from far-right political ideologies. Continue reading...

Couple, who were living in Afghanistan, were arrested and held without charge, raising fears for their healthA British couple have been freed from months of detention in Afghanistan, the UK Foreign Office has said.The Taliban released Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, after eight months of detention. Continue reading...

Portugal has also made extradition request for Diogo Santos Coelho who is facing cybercrime chargesA high court judge has ruled that a vulnerable autistic man should not be extradited to the US on cybercrime charges, quashing a Home Office decision.The UK government has accepted that Diogo Santos Coelho, 25, was groomed and exploited online by adults from the age of 14, leading to him setting up the website RaidForums, to which the alleged crimes relate. Continue reading...

Police seek two men over racially motivated' attack on woman in her 20s in Oldbury, near BirminghamA 10,000 reward has been offered by the Sikh community for information leading to the conviction of two men being sought over the racially motivated" rape of a woman in her 20s.The perpetrators allegedly told the woman you don't belong in this country, get out", as they attacked her on the morning of Tuesday 9 September. Continue reading...

Intervision promises to be lighter on sequins and heavier on patriotic ballads than its European counterpartRussia is gearing up to revive its Soviet-era alternative to Eurovision - the Intervision song contest - which kicks off in Moscow on Saturday, with performers from 23, mostly allied, countries set to take the stage.But sequinned bodysuits, camp theatrics and Europop bangers will be in short supply. Instead, the Kremlin's version of the spectacle promises traditional values", patriotic ballads and a Russian entry led by a fiercely pro-war singer, as Moscow attempts to refashion Europe's glitter-soaked pageant in its own image. Continue reading...

Network Rail says train named after public vote will join fleet of unsung hero' leaf-busters this autumnIf Boaty McBoatface taught us one thing, it's that the public do not take a naming ceremony particularly seriously.Cue the newly named leaf-removal train: Ctrl Alt Deleaf. Continue reading...

Nobel prize-winner says US institutions have collapsed much quicker than expected under the Trump administrationThe Nobel prize-winner Maria Ressa has said Americans are like deer in the headlights" amid the collapse of US institutions and free speech under the Trump administration, particularly after Jimmy Kimmel's suspension.Speaking to Jon Stewart on the satirical news programme The Daily Show, the journalist and author of How to Stand Up to a Dictator, said the speed at which Donald Trump had collapsed" US institutions happened much faster than she anticipated. Continue reading...

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Health regulator places conditions on Dr Christopher Webster's registration over comments made after mushroom lunch murder trialAn Australian doctor who treated triple murderer Erin Patterson and her victims after the deadly mushroom lunch has been slapped with conditions by the health regulator after speaking out about the case.Dr Christopher Webster, a GP in the Victorian town of Leongatha, south-east of Melbourne, was a witness in Patterson's trial earlier this year. Continue reading...

Sydney Metro trains are driverless, although customer service attendants work inside the trains and on station platforms

Charges follow two incidents in Cobblebank on 6 September that resulted in the deaths of Dau Akueng, 15, and Chol Achiek, 12

Home Office says man left Heathrow for Paris early on Friday after losing high court attempt to block moveAn Eritrean man has been deported to France under the UK government's one in, one out" deal with the neighbouring country.The man - the second to be deported under the agreement - was on a flight that left Heathrow for Paris at 6.15am on Friday, the Home Office confirmed after he lost a high court attempt to block the move. Continue reading...

Beijing's comments come as leading military figures in PNG express concern over a potential defence treaty with AustraliaChina has urged Papua New Guinea not to sign a treaty that could restrict or prevent it from cooperating with another country, days after Australia failed to secure a defence pact with the Pacific nation.In a statement on Facebook late on Thursday, the Chinese embassy in Papua New Guinea said it respected the country's right to conclude a bilateral treaty with other countries on a voluntary basis". Continue reading...