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More than 50 past and present leaders to gather amid domestic opposition to ceremony fuelled by links between Abe’s party and Unification ChurchThe US vice-president, Kamala Harris, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, will be among foreign dignitaries arriving in Japan to attend a state funeral for the assassinated former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, despite strong public opposition to the ceremony.They will be among about 700 people from overseas, including 50 former and current leaders, who are expected to attend the funeral in Tokyo on Tuesday, almost three months after Abe was shot dead while making a campaign speech. Continue reading...

Darren Rodwell denies conflict of interest and has invited disabled people and looked-after children to box at stadiumA town hall leader bidding to become an MP has accepted close to £10,000 worth of free Premier League tickets from a Los Angeles movie company after his council approved plans for its new film studios.Darren Rodwell, the Labour leader of the London borough of Barking and Dagenham, has been entertained 19 times by MBS Group in a luxury corporate box at West Ham’s stadium in the wake of deals paving the way for MBS and its parent company, Hackman Capital Partners, to create 12 sound stages on former industrial sites. Continue reading...

Friday is last day Bank of England’s old-style notes will be legal tender, having been replaced by polymer versionsThe Post Office is preparing for a “last-moment” rush of customers depositing paper £20 and £50 banknotes this week, before they can no longer be used in shops or to pay businesses.This Friday, 30 September, is the last day the Bank of England’s paper £20 and £50 banknotes will have legal tender status, having been replaced by new polymer versions. Continue reading...

Changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme expected to save Australians $130m per year, federal government says

At least 41 people have died in unrest sparked by young woman’s death as judiciary warns of ‘decisive action without leniency’Iranians have taken to the streets for a 10th consecutive night to protest against the death of Mahsa Amini in defiance of a warning from the judiciary.Officially at least 41 people have died since the unrest began, mostly protesters but including members of the security forces, but sources say the real figure is higher. Continue reading...

Giorgia Meloni and far-right Brothers of Italy in line to form new coalition with right getting 41-45% of the vote, while left alliance has 25-29%

Dozens assembled to call for an end to the Islamic republic, some of whom became involved in altercations with officers and one anotherTwelve people have been arrested during protests in London calling for an end to Iran’s Islamic republic, including outside the country’s UK embassy, after the death of a 22-year-old woman.Angry protesters could be seen shouting and pushing officers who had formed a cordon in front of the embassy in Princes Gate, Knightsbridge. Continue reading...

Technology’s use in crown courts will spare victims trauma of testifying in live trial settingThe use of pre-recorded evidence of victims and witnesses to crimes has been introduced at crown courts in England and Wales.The Ministry of Justice said that from Monday the technology would be available at a final 20 crown courts in Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, East Anglia, Essex, London and the south-east, marking the end of a national rollout. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester mayor predicts regaining lost ‘red wall’ seats in Q&A with Guardian editor-in-chiefAndy Burnham has said Labour is on the brink of government, predicting the party will win back all of the “red wall” seats it lost in 2019.The Greater Manchester mayor also doubled down on calls for Labour to reinstate the 20p tax rate after planned cuts by Liz Truss, saying the money should be directed to public sector pay, and reiterated calls for nationalisation of the railways, calling it a “no-brainer”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: The defence force’s alleged handling of the training course prompted a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission

Reports suggest local population in occupied areas has overwhelmingly boycotted Kremlin’s referendum

Research project hopes to help coarser fleece from hill-farmed flocks compete with imported merino and cashmereIn a laboratory in Edinburgh, carefully selected enzymes are right now breaking down a sheep’s fleece in the name of science.In a world-first research project that advocates for native textiles believe could catalyse a revival of the Scottish wool industry, researchers are exploring ways to treat the coarser fleece that is usually produced by hill-farmed flocks to make it more suitable for clothing. Continue reading...

Intan says he paid more than a month’s wages from his old job to guarantee his place, but remains unemployed

Exclusive: Workers say they have been charged to guarantee a job – which may be illegal – and have not yet had an interview

Emergency services called to blaze on top floor of tower block in Easton in early hours of SundayA man has died after a fire at a tower block in Bristol, police said.Emergency services were called to the blaze on the top floor of Twinnell House on Wills Drive in Easton, Bristol, shortly after 2.15am on Sunday. Avon and Somerset police said the fire was quickly extinguished. Continue reading...

Only state intervention can save the day, but the pain is likely to fall on ordinary citizens, say observersA little more than a year ago, a Chinese property developer largely unknown to the outside world said its cashflow was under “tremendous pressure” and might not be able to pay back some of its eye-watering debts of $300bn (£275bn).Today, that company, China Evergrande Group, is all-too well-known as the poster child of the country’s economic woes. House prices in China have fallen in each of the 12 months since Evergrande’s now prophetic warning, with Xi Jinping’s government now preparing to throw billions of dollars at a property market experts say increasingly resembles a giant Ponzi scheme. Continue reading...

Chancellor says he and Liz Truss want to do what previous Tory governments deemed unthinkable

Ben Wallace says military will grow for first time since end of cold war with armed forces’ budget riseThe UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said military spending will double from its current level to hit £100bn in 2030 as a result of Liz Truss’s commitment to increase the armed forces’ budget to 3% of GDP.The minister said in a Sunday newspaper interview that the military was “actually going to grow” for the first time since the end of the cold war – although he did not specifically commit to reversing a planned cut in the size of the army. Continue reading...

Ticket holder comes forward to become UK’s third biggest lottery winner of all timeA ticket holder has come forward to claim the £171m jackpot from Friday’s EuroMillions draw, operator Camelot has said.Their win makes them the UK’s third biggest lottery winner of all time and instantly richer than the singers Harry Styles, who is worth an estimated £100m, and Adele, worth an estimated £150m. Continue reading...

Research suggests employers are overlooking people – particularly women - who work from homeThe shift towards hybrid working could be holding back women’s career progression, as research suggests employers are overlooking people who spend more time working from home.

For older people, loneliness and the stress of weighing risk of ordinary activities have taken an additional tollIt was Mother’s Day in May 2020, and an elderly woman lay dying in a Rhode Island nursing home. Her children couldn’t visit because of Covid, and as much as Adelina Ramos, her certified nursing assistant, longed to provide comfort from her bedside, she had to leave, even though she could see the woman was slipping away.She had 25 other patients to care for that day. Continue reading...

The charity Inquest has submitted details of death of unarmed black man in London to the human rights commissionerThe UN has been asked to consider the death of Chris Kaba in its global investigation into “police brutality” and racism.In a move supported by his family, the charity Inquest has submitted detailed concerns over the police shooting of Kaba, an unarmed black man, to the UN human rights office. Continue reading...

Warumungu people in Northern Territory negotiate return of four objects collected by anthropologist Baldwin Spencer in the early 1900sGet our free news app, morning email briefing or daily news podcastFour objects from the Warumungu people will be returned from a New Zealand museum to country in the Northern Territory.Two hooked boomerangs (wartilykirri), an adze (palya/kupija) and an axe (ngurrulumuru) were collected by well-known anthropologist Baldwin Spencer and telegraph operator James Field.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...

Survivors say boat that sank off Syrian coast had between 120 and 150 people onboardThe death toll from a boat that sank off the Syrian coast after sailing from Lebanon earlier this week has risen to 94, Syrian state TV said on Saturday.The country’s transport ministry has quoted survivors as saying the boat left Lebanon’s northern Minyeh region on Tuesday bound for Europe with between 120 and 150 people onboard. Continue reading...

Post-tropical cyclone reaches Gulf of St Lawrence after racing through Nova Scotia forcing evacuationsPowerful storm Fiona ripped into eastern Canada on Saturday with hurricane-force winds, forcing evacuations, knocking down trees and powerlines, and reducing many homes on the coast to “just a pile of rubble in the ocean”.The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the centre of the storm, downgraded to post-tropical cyclone Fiona, had reached the Gulf of St Lawrence after racing through Nova Scotia. Continue reading...

The Labour leader said electoral reform was not a priority and refused to make it one of the party’s election manifesto pledgesKeir Starmer has ruled out including any support for a change in the voting system in Labour’s election manifesto, as senior figures from across the party joined calls to back proportional representation (PR).Labour’s annual conference, under way in Liverpool, is expected to back a motion calling for the party to drop its historical support for the first past the post system amid concerns that it has locked Labour out of power. Continue reading...

Minister says people ‘should be living in the community’ if there are no security or safety concerns

As men of fighting age flee the draft, observers say Kremlin should be more worried about mounting anger away from the citieshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/series/ukraine-live/latestIn a caricature by the country’s most prominent political cartoonist, Sergey Elkin, Vladimir Putin is standing on top of the Kremlin wall with his arms outstretched.“So what else do I need to do for you guys to finally start rebelling,” Putin asks, with a look of desperation. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Labour vows to end ‘Tory procurement racket’ and reward firms that pay taxes responsiblyOne in every six public procurement contracts issued by the government over a five-year period were won by businesses with connections to a tax haven, analysis has found.The companies behind the taxpayer-funded deals were owned by firms that were at least partly domiciled in one of 27 tax havens around the world, including the British Virgin Islands, Panama and Jersey. Continue reading...

While oil prices are back to pre-Ukraine war levels, a weaker pound results in higher costs for motoristsThe plunge in the value of the pound has left drivers paying an extra £6 for a tank of petrol, an analysis from the AA has found.The recent fall in sterling, exacerbated by Friday’s market-spooking mini-budget, has hit hard-pressed motorists in the pocket, the motoring group said. Continue reading...

Iain Treloar says Union Cycliste International blacklisted him after he examined its links to a Turkmen autocrat and a Russian billionaire

Phil Egan says he has not heard anything like those allegations before at a football club and there should now be an audit of all clubs

Labour says new merged foreign policy council could reduce Whitehall policy-makers’ focus on securityLiz Truss has scrapped the national security council and merged it with two Boris Johnson-era foreign policy committees in a structure that Labour warned risked diluting the government’s security focus.Created in 2010 under the coalition, led by David Cameron and Nick Clegg, to better coordinate security policy after the disaster of the Iraq war, the NSC is now to be replaced by a broad eight-strong foreign policy and security council (FPSC). Continue reading...

High court rules DWP scheme to deduct money without consent is illegal and breaches ‘obligation of fairness’A disabled former police officer has won a legal challenge against the Department for Work and Pensions over its policy of allowing utility companies to automatically deduct hundreds of pounds a year from individuals’ benefits without their consent.Helen Timson, 51, of Leicester, argued it was unlawful and immoral that the DWP enabled water and energy firms to draw down up to 25% of a claimant’s monthly benefit income at source without undertaking any form of check with the claimant. Hundreds of thousands of claimants are understood to be subject to the deductions. Continue reading...

London’s ‘Screamatorium’ is one way to self-soothe as office tension (and therapy costs) mount• Little evidence screaming helps mental health, say psychologistsOn Zoom, no one can hear you scream. But since our return to the office, those quiet corners and private meeting rooms might be proving in high demand.Whether it’s for personal or professional, or the inextricable intersection of the two, nearly everyone who passes time in an office will have at least once had a meltdown there. Continue reading...

New occupant of No 10 has wasted no time in distinguishing her administration from the past 12 years of Conservative governmentLiz Truss has made no secret of the fact she is willing to be unpopular – going against the grain and doing things her party, the civil service and even the public might be significantly restive about.As she railroads through orthodoxy to distinguish her administration from the past 12 years of Conservative government, these are some of the ways she has already ripped up the rulebook. Continue reading...

The country faces a litany of problems, from inflation to a democratic deficit, and the women’s movement is seen as an agent of changeOn the day that news of Mahsa Amini’s death spread throughout Iran, a young woman with a shaved head joined protesters who had gathered outside Kasra hospital, where Amini had lain in a coma since her violent arrest by Iran’s morality police days earlier.In her hand she carried a plastic bag full of her long hair, shorn off in a gesture of solidarity with Amini and in defiance of the increasing crackdown on women by the regime. Continue reading...

In letter to justice secretary, Dame Vera Baird says ‘criminal justice system is in chaos’ and victims’ interests not a priorityThe victims’ commissioner for England and Wales has announced she is quitting the role as she launched a scathing parting attack on the government’s commitment to those she represents.Dame Vera Baird KC said she would not stay in post beyond her current term of 30 September, accusing the government of downgrading victims’ interests, reducing her access to ministers and failing to provide clarity regarding her reappointment. Continue reading...

€3 charge aims to gives independent booksellers a chance against e-commerce firms that use free delivery loopholeFrance’s crusade to protect independent booksellers against huge online retailers was stepped up on Friday as the government proposed a €3 (£2.66) minimum delivery fee for all online book orders of less than €35.The government’s fixed fee for online deliveries is part of a quest to support independent bookshops against the domination of big tech firms, such as Amazon. Continue reading...

One of the accusers in Benjamin Mendy trial says Grealish was at party at teammate’s house last yearThe England footballer Jack Grealish was at a party at the house of his Manchester City teammate Benjamin Mendy where two young women were allegedly raped, Chester crown court has heard.One of the accusers told the court on Friday that another woman, who alleges she was raped by Mendy’s friend Louis Saha Matturie, claimed she had sex with Grealish on the same night. Continue reading...

Kwasi Kwarteng announces moves that oblige unions to ensure trains run before sustained industrial action

From JK Rowling to Nicola Sturgeon, world laments death of Booker prize-winning author

Freeze on alcohol duty welcomed, but lack of new measures to support struggling businesses disappointsThe chancellor’s freeze on alcohol duty has gone down well with the beer industry, but the wider hospitality sector lamented a lack of announcements on help for hard-pressed pubs, restaurants and bars as they wrestle with the cost of living crisis.In a mini-budget that outlined his growth-above-all approach to Britain’s finances, Kwasi Kwarteng froze duty on beer, cider, wine and spirits for a year, as well as pushing ahead with controversial plans to overhaul how the tax is applied. Continue reading...

There’s confidence in the party that ‘the political wing of the British people’ can beat an unpopular governmentWhen Keir Starmer picked up his pen during the summer recess to begin drafting his conference speech, there was no way of knowing who his opponent would be by the time he would have finished it.His target for the past 12 months had been Boris Johnson. Now that he is gone, it will be the first year the Labour leader feels confident enough to talk realistically about being prime minister within two years. Continue reading...

Khayri McLean was stabbed to death on his way home from school on WednesdayA second teenager has been arrested in connection with the killing of a 15-year-old boy outside a school in Huddersfield.Khayri McLean was stabbed to death on his way home, close to the entrance of North Huddersfield Trust school (NHTS) in Woodhouse Hill at 2.45pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Big releases with usually bankable male stars criticised for formulaic storylines as audience taste evolvesThe opening of a new big-name Bollywood film was once a national event across India, greeted by weeks of fanfare, long queues outside cinemas and halls packed to the rafters with audiences cheering and singing along.But this year, with 77% of releases flopping at the box office, cinema halls have been left eerily quiet and Bollywood’s once unshakeable domination of the Indian film industry has begun to look uncertain. Continue reading...

Chancellor’s mini-budget supply-side reforms are going to be tested to the limits in months aheadA struggling economy. An unpopular Conservative government. A dramatic change of course. Britain has been here before. Just like Reginald Maudling in the early 1960s and Tony Barber in the early 1970s, Kwasi Kwarteng has gone for broke, with a massive package of tax cuts designed to put Britain on a higher growth path.The chancellor will be crossing his fingers that his experiment has a happier ending than those of his predecessors, neither of which ended well. It is one huge gamble on supply-side reforms boosting enterprise, tax cuts paying for themselves, and the financial markets remaining onside. The initial reaction from the City was not entirely reassuring. Continue reading...

Government to consult on long-called-for scheme which is likely to cost almost £1.3bn

Drag performer George Ward appeared on second series of hit show before launching TV careerThe drag performer George Ward, known by their stage name Cherry Valentine, has died at the age of 28.The performer was “an inspiration to many”, the BBC said, after Ward’s family announced their death at the age of 28. Continue reading...

Account holders say they are ‘angry’ personal data including addresses and phone numbers was exposed while some say they are yet to hear from telco