World news | The Guardian

Quinn Mitchell, who had credential for New Hampshire political summit, says he was accused of being tracker' and disturbance'A 15-year-old aspiring journalist who had a viral encounter with Florida governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year was escorted out of a Republican political event by armed police after he was accused of being a Democratic operative.Quinn Mitchell - a politics enthusiast who has attended more than 80 presidential campaign events - said he was given a credential to the First in the Nation Leadership Summit, an event organized by the New Hampshire Republican party. Continue reading...

Retailer with more than 2,000 stores in 17 states was hit by lawsuits alleging pharmacies contributed to oversupply of opioidsDebt-laden Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday and said it would close underperforming stores, as the drugstore chain comes under pressure from lawsuits alleging that it helped fuel the US opioid crisis.The filing will allow it to resolve litigation claims in an equitable manner", the company said, adding it has received a commitment for $3.45bn from some lenders, which will provide liquidity during the bankruptcy process. Continue reading...

Love Actually and Notting Hill director says jokes calling people chubby aren't any longer funny'Richard Curtis has expressed regret over his depiction of women and jokes about body size in films such as Love Actually and Bridget Jones's Diary, after being interrogated by his daughter.The British screenwriter and director admitted that jibes about women's weight aren't any longer funny", and he said setting the 1999 hit film Notting Hill, starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, in the diverse London neighbourhood without any black characters was wrong. Continue reading...

Schools pay tribute to teacher killed last week as country placed on highest security alertFrench secondary schools will hold a minute's silence on Monday after a teacher was killed by a former pupil in what the government called an Islamist terror attack, prompting Emmanuel Macron to call for a ruthless" approach towards extremists.France has been placed on its highest level of security alert after a 20-year-old terrorist suspect who had been under surveillance walked into his old high school in Arras, northern France, on Friday and stabbed to death a French teacher, Dominique Bernard, and injured three others. The 57-year-old teacher died from several wounds to the neck. Continue reading...

Liu Liange charged with accepting bribes and illegally granting loans amid country's anti-corruption driveChina has arrested the former head of one of the country's largest commercial banks on charges of accepting bribes and illegally granting loans, amid a two-year anti-corruption drive targeting the financial sector.China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which is investigating corruption within the ruling Communist party, said on Monday that Liu Liange had been arrested, after announcing the start of the investigation in March. Continue reading...

Aine Leslie Davis, who was once accused of being member of cell known as the Beatles', admits offences at Old BaileyAine Leslie Davis, 39, who was once suspected of being part of an Islamic State death squad known as "the Beatles", has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to having a firearm for terrorism purposes and two offences of funding terrorism.More details soon ... Continue reading...

Joseph Czuba, 71, charged with murder after stabbing tenants over a dozen times, was reportedly fueled by Israel-Hamas warA 71-year-old man in Plainfield, Illinois, has been charged with murder and a hate crime after stabbing a child and his mother because they were Muslims.Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis," the Will county sheriff's office said. Continue reading...

Protective order poses dilemma for Tanya Chutkan as Trump could use it to falsely attack the criminal case as politicalA federal judge is expected to consider on Monday whether to impose a limited gag order on Donald Trump in the criminal case over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, potentially restricting what he can say about potential trial witnesses and prosecutors.The decision for US district judge Tanya Chutkan at the hearing, scheduled for 10am in Washington, comes with unique challenges given the potential for Trump to test the limits of a protective order or even flout it outright - opening the explosive sanctions question of whether to jail him in response. Continue reading...

Police wish to speak to man shown throwing flare as they consider application for upcoming march in support of Palestine

Prime minister says issues that we sought to address have not gone away' and that no one is arguing for the status quo'

PM says Hamas should be condemned for committing mass murder on a horrific scale' while Greens warn of looming humanitarian crisis'

Dan Harry, who won the BBC reality show I Kissed a Boy, teams up with LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall to battle hate crimesIt was only when strangers started hugging him in the street that Dan Harry fully appreciated what his appearance on the UK's first all-gay dating show had meant.People would get really emotional, saying: Thank you for what you've done for this community,' and I don't necessarily see it like that. I just went on holiday and kissed some boys," says the 27-year-old who grew up in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, and now lives in London. Continue reading...

Of the 255 people who took the repatriation flights, Clare O'Neil says, most are Australian citizens and family members

Police say a 30-year-old man arrived at Gosford police station and was taken to hospital where he remains under guard after emergency services were called to Umina beach

Concerns over fuel capacity with 27 120kg wrestlers onboard led to national carrier taking the unusual step' of transferring sumo rikishi to another flightJapan's flagship carrier has been forced to lay on an extra flight at short notice after concluding that two of its planes were at risk of exceeding their weight limits. The culprit was not excess baggage, however, but a passenger list that included some of the country's heaviest men.Japan Airlines took the very unusual" step of transferring a number of sumo wrestlers to a hastily arranged special flight last week over concerns that the two aircraft they had originally been due to fly would be unable to carry sufficient fuel due to weight restrictions. Continue reading...

Students and recent arrivals will begin to return and current record figure of 606,000 will be halved in coming yearsNet migration to the UK is likely to fall significantly in the coming years but remain at pre-Brexit levels of about 300,000, analysis by academic experts suggests.Net migration was a record 606,000 in the 12 months to June 2022, up 24% on the previous year, prompting Rishi Sunak to say numbers are too high, it's as simple as that, and I want to bring them down". Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. You can follow our new blog here

Research conducted in the final week of the campaign gauged what people were thinking when they took to the ballot box

Broadcaster must pay Russell $390,000 but judge did not award aggravated damages, finding the former commando embraced the public controversy'

Asked about another referendum on Indigenous recognition, opposition leader says Australians won't want that for some time'

Platforms that hold over $1,500 of an individual's assets or $5m in aggregate will be subject to existing Australian financial services laws

Russia's biggest offensive in months is failing, says Ukrainian commander; at least six people killed in Russian strikes

Polls put ruling PiS in first place but suggest route to government for opposition coalition led by Donald Tusk's party. This blog is now closedEyes on smaller groupsThe final outcome could depend on how well three smaller groupings do. The leftwing Lewica and centre-right Third Way are expected to form a coalition with Tusk's Civic Coalition if between them they can muster the 231 seats required to claim a majority in the lower house of parliament. Continue reading...

Justice secretary planning to remove overseas criminals after six months and give more community sentences in England and WalesThe justice secretary will commit to freeing up space in the dangerously overcrowded prison estate by deporting more foreign criminals and phasing out short sentences in favour of community punishments.Two-thirds of prisons in England and Wales are overcrowded, according to Guardian analysis of official figures, and last week judges were told to delay the sentencing of convicted criminals on bail, including rapists and burglars, because jails are almost full. Continue reading...

Martyn Brabbins says proposals to axe 19 posts and employ remaining musicians part-time is plan of managed decline'Martyn Brabbins has announced his resignation as music director of English National Opera. His decision follows the announcement on 13 October of a proposal to axe 19 orchestral positions and employ its remaining musicians on part-time contracts.I cannot in all conscience continue to support the board and management's strategy for the future of the company," he said in a statement released on Sunday by his management. Continue reading...

Peace and love are more powerful than terror,' say friends of 23-year-old Dorin AtiasThe friends of a 23-year-old killed in a kibbutz after seeking refuge from the massacre at a music festival last Saturday plan to rebuild the settlement as a sign that peace and love are more powerful than terror".Dorin Atias was due to start a shift as a bartender at 7am at the Supernova festival but decided to arrive earlier to get some dancing in before her work started. Continue reading...

US is concerned heavy Palestinian casualties caused by expected ground assault will provoke Iran and inflame wider tensions

As people in the Gaza Strip move south en masse, we look at the prospects of their being granted refuge in Sinai

Volodymyr Zelenskiy praises troops for holding their positions in areas including Avdiivka, where fighting is particularly hot'

Film of shows from summer concerts at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles could end up being biggest October opening everMovie theaters turned into concert venues this weekend as Swifties brought their dance moves and friendship bracelets to multiplexes across the country. The unparalleled enthusiasm helped propel Taylor Swift: the Eras Tour to a massive, first-place debut of between $95m and $97m in North America, AMC Theatres said on Sunday.It's easily the biggest opening for a concert film of all time, and, not accounting for inflation, has made more than the $73m Justin Bieber: Never Say Never earned in 2011. In today's dollars, that would be around $102m. And if it comes in on the higher end of projections when totals are released Monday, it could be the biggest October opening ever. The one to beat is Joker, which launched to $96.2m in 2019. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester area is home to more than 10,000 Jews and extra police are being deployed to counter hate crimeAntisemitic incidents are increasing as Israel's retaliation against Gaza intensifies, a council leader in Greater Manchester has warned as police in the region deployed extra officers to deal with hate crime.Bury, home to more than 10,700 Jews, has seen reports of antisemitism increase throughout the week, according to council leader Eamonn O'Brien. What started as one or two isolated, relatively minor incidents has started to escalate," he said, with Jewish residents worried about what's to come". Continue reading...

Network Rail cautions passengers to check services as it reopens lines to and from station after disruptionRail passengers endured hours of delays on trains to and from London's Euston station after a points failure on Sunday.Network Rail warned passengers at Euston to expect major disruption" as all trains were suspended from about 10.40am to 1pm at the earliest. Continue reading...

James Cleverly says updated figure of those captured in attack on Israel is not an unreasonable estimate'

Study shows widespread concern over quality of managers, with 82% of bosses deemed accidental', having had no formal trainingAlmost one-third of UK workers say they've quit a job because of a negative workplace culture, according to a new survey that underlines the risks of managers failing to rein in toxic behaviour.Research carried out by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) pointed to widespread concern about the quality of management, and its impact on workers' daily lives. Continue reading...

Ability of populists or Civic Coalition to form a government is likely to depend on other, smaller partiesPoles are voting in the country's parliamentary election, with the populist Law and Justice (PiS) government trying to win a third term in office and see off a challenge from an opposition led by the former prime minister and European Council president Donald Tusk.Polling in the run-up to the vote suggested the race was too close to call, and the ability for either PiS or Tusk's Civic Coalition to form a government is likely to come down to the results of other, smaller parties. Continue reading...

HMP Wandsworth holding more extra prisoners than any other jail despite recent high-profile problemsTwo-thirds of prisons in England and Wales are officially overcrowded, with HMP Wandsworth holding more extra prisoners than any other jail despite the alleged escape of a terror suspect last month.In September there were 663 more men in Wandsworth than the 950 the south London prison has good, decent" accommodation for, under the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) definition. That means prisoners sharing cells designed for one, often with a toilet in the middle shielded by a curtain. Continue reading...

Memo by military police chief said there was no shortage of detractors' in Whitehall of elite unit's conductSenior figures in Downing Street were calling in 2016 for the SAS to have its wings clipped" as it emerged that a growing number of suspected murders of Afghan civilians were being investigated by military police.Critics of the elite unit's behaviour were led by Jeremy Heywood, who at the time was cabinet secretary to the then prime minister, Theresa May, according to a memo cited last week during a public inquiry into allegations of unlawful SAS killings in Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Joseph Barnes charged with murder of Tafari Thompson-Mintah, 16, and is due to appear in court on MondayA 40-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a teenager in south-east London.Tafari Thompson-Mintah, 16, was riding his moped in Orpington, when he was involved in a fatal collision last Monday afternoon. Continue reading...

Airport says it is working with insurers to see if any personal items can be saved from destroyed vehiclesLuton airport has said it is unlikely that any vehicles will be salvageable after a huge fire that caused a car park to collapse.Bedfordshire fire and rescue service has received a report about the blaze on level three of the airport's terminal car park on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Prospect of appeals causes disquiet among police, with one harassment victim fearing some union members will now be supporting our abusers'

Albanese government plans to let dust settle after Saturday's loss with focus potentially shifting to state-based voice and treaty processes

Major assault in Donetsk launched on Tuesday said to have resulted in serious losses for Moscow's forces

Juan de Pareja's story sheds light on the role of slavery in creating the great works of Spain's golden ageThe portrait, showing a man of African descent gazing frankly towards the artist, set the art world abuzz when it was revealed by Diego Velazquez in 1650.The painting cemented the artist's stratospheric rise, but the spotlight has been recently cast on the extraordinary trajectory of the man who is the subject of the portrait, Juan de Pareja, who went from being enslaved in Velazquez's studio for more than two decades to becoming a successful artist in his own right. Continue reading...

According to shadow chancellor, no-go areas' don't exist for party now, as close fights loom for two previously safe Tory seats

Another 6.3-magnitude quake strikes outside Herat in western area where thousands were killed last weekA powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake has struck western Afghanistan, just over a week after strong quakes and aftershocks killed thousands of people and flattened entire villages in the same region.The US Geological Survey said the latest quake's epicentre was about 21 miles (34km) outside Herat, the provincial capital, and the focus was 5 miles below the surface. Continue reading...

Fountain', by the father of conceptualism, is seen as a pinnacle of 20th-century art - but new evidence casts doubt on its authorshipFor more than a century, the art world has celebrated Marcel Duchamp's Fountain. His work, simply a urinal signed and dated R Mutt 1917", is widely regarded as a pinnacle of 20th-century art, with a replica on display in Tate Modern, London. For some, Duchamp is the father of conceptualism, the so-called art of ideas. For others, he is a charlatan responsible for the demise of traditional artistry.Now two leading art historians are challenging the whole foundation stone of conceptual art" after uncovering what they say is evidence that the urinal has been erroneously attributed to the French-born artist, who simply played along with the charade. Continue reading...

IDF should avoid mass casualties in any ground attack, says James Cleverly, in change of tone by British government

Guidelines ban shared accommodation but breaches are at an all-time high, with patient safety and dignity compromisedNHS England has recorded more than 120,000 breaches of its mixed-sex hospital accommodation guidance in the past six years, a 257% increase.Guidance added to the NHS constitution in 2012 states that hospital patients will not share sleeping accommodation with members of the opposite sex except where appropriate". Exemptions include critical care wards or patients receiving treatment, such as chemotherapy, where they may derive comfort from the presence of other patients with similar conditions". Continue reading...

South-west Sydney MP says a lot of people felt disfranchised' as Hunter MP Dan Repacholi says voters were more keen to hear about cost of living'