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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...

Dilan Yeilgoz-Zegerius, new leader of the Netherlands' VVD party, is a talk show darling. Will that be enough to take her to the very top?She is a former child refugee who wants to reduce immigration, has opened the door to the far right and could be the Netherlands' first female prime minister. At a packed party conference in Rotterdam on Saturday, Dilan Yeilgoz-Zegerius, leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), launched her campaign for November's elections with a call for liberty and security.From my parents, I learned to cherish freedom and stand up for others when their freedom was threatened," she said. But we face losing ever more of this oxygen', with ever less understanding for one another and politics operating increasingly from distrust. It's not for nothing that our manifesto is called: giving space, defining borders." Continue reading...

Munira Wilson told party's conference many men could not afford to spend time with their babiesThe Liberal Democrats have said they would double statutory shared parental pay (ShPP) and extend the amount of leave new parents can take if the party form the next government.Speaking at the party's autumn conference in Bournemouth, education spokesperson, Munira Wilson, said not enough men were taking leave, while many simply can't afford" to spend time with their babies. Continue reading...

Official tour leaders complain that freelance guides with large groups and voice amplifiers are making their job impossibleThey're changing the guard at Buckingham Palace - but these days Christopher Robin would have trouble making out anything Alice says to him. Official Blue Badge guides working in London say a new wave of freelance tour guides at major tourist sights are deafening them and their guests by using megaphones and portable voice amplifiers.The Institute for Tourist Guiding (ITG) says its members are increasingly concerned about the unofficial guides who have begun operating this summer around Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament. Continue reading...

Once dismissed as a swimming pool drink, rose is becoming the go-to wine for the French as traditions changeFor the French, a glass of chilled blush rose was once considered a delicate but not entirely serious swimming pool drink"; a summer aperitif for lightweight, often female, tipplers.Real wine lovers would select a red heavy with tannins, or a traditional white - both considered the true expression of French terroir, the untranslatable concept encompassing not just the soil in which the vines grow but also the natural, geological climatic and cultural elements associated with it. Continue reading...

Governors of Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland declare states of emergency as storm expected to bring heavy rainfallTropical Storm Ophelia made landfall on the coast of North Carolina near Emerald Isle early on Saturday as the storm moved north along the US east coast.Before the storm's landfall, the governors of Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland declared states of emergency. Ophelia was predicted to bring heavy rainfall, tropical storm force winds and minor flooding along the states' coasts through the weekend. Continue reading...

Deal would have seen Tories withdraw candidates in Lib Dem seats and vice versa, new book revealsThe decision by the Lib Dems to form a coalition government with the Conservatives in 2010 torpedoed the party's electoral support for years. Yet senior figures from both parties have now confirmed that they seriously considered the option of backing an audacious second coalition deal and putting it to voters at the 2015 election.Lib Dem and Tory leaders discussed the idea of turning the 2015 vote into the next coupon election" - a reference to the 1918 general election when a Liberal coalition headed by prime minister David Lloyd George endorsed pro-government Liberal and Tory MPs. Continue reading...

Two children stopped on interstate highway attempting to run away to California after mother confiscated girl's electronicsA 10-year-old Florida boy and his 11-year-old sister who were running away to California drove 200 miles (320km) in their mother's car before sheriff's deputies stopped the pair on an interstate highway, authorities said.The two children had made a run for it after their mother confiscated the girl's electronics as punishments, according to officials. Continue reading...

Just as the stop the boats' campaign didn't win the Tories support, their new red wall'-targeting policy on carbon emissions may backfireThe Augustinian message Lord, make us green, but not yet" was the basis of Rishi Sunak's announcement last week of his package of proposals to delay and water down Britain's policies to achieve net zero carbon emissions.Supporters of the stance believe the recent Uxbridge byelection upset has revealed a valuable new electoral dividing line: voters who are keen on carbon-cutting in theory become much less keen when the bill arrives. By pushing everything costly further into the future, the Conservatives can win back disaffected voters by rousing latent fears of their big-spending Labour opponents. Continue reading...

The prime minister's attempts to turn the climate emergency into a US-style wedge issue have dismayed veteran MPs who champion green policiesRishi Sunak's decision to drive a green wedge" between the Conservatives and Labour will take the UK into dangerous new political territory and the worst kind of culture wars", not seen for more than 30 years, senior Tory figures and political observers have warned.Reversals and delays to net zero policy announced last week will be just the start of a general election campaign in which the UK's longstanding cross-party political consensus on climate will be increasingly at stake. Emails sent to journalists from the Conservative campaign headquarters revealed lines of attack on targets including the independent Climate Change Committee and Labour's proposed 28bn investment in a low-carbon economy. Continue reading...

Burger King, Asos and HelloFresh remove ads from site in wake of allegations about comedianA number of large companies have pulled their advertisements from the video platform Rumble, where Russell Brand broadcasts his weekly show, in the week since allegations of rape and sexual assault against the comedian came to light.The News Movement reported on Friday that Burger King, Asos, the Barbican and HelloFresh, the recipe box delivery service, had removed their ads. Brand has 1.4m followers on the platform. YouTube suspended Brand's ability to earn money on its platform on Tuesday but Rumble has rejected calls to do the same. On Friday, Brand said the moves to block him from receiving advertising revenue for his videos on social media platforms have occurred in the context of the online safety bill". Continue reading...

Two eight-year-old girls died when a Land Rover crashed through the fence of the Study Prep on 6 JulyA woman who was arrested in connection with the Wimbledon school crash had been rebailed until January, the Metropolitan police have said.Two eight-year-olds girls died when a Land Rover Defender crashed through the fence of the Study Prep school in Wimbledon on 6 July. Continue reading...

Sir John Armitt says cost of project needs to curbed, but that there are massive benefits' to economy in continuingAxing the Manchester leg of the HS2 high-speed rail line would be a tragedy" but the government needs to get a grip of the costs", the country's infrastructure chief has said.Sir John Armitt, the chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, which is responsible for providing expert advice to the UK government, also said cancellation of the route would tell the world that the UK runs away when it starts to see some challenges". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Concerns over patient safety after NHS figures show less-qualified staff attending urgent callsOne in three life-or-death 999 ambulance calls in some parts of England are not attended by a paramedic, NHS figures obtained by the Guardian reveal.The disclosure has prompted fears that seriously unwell or badly injured patients may receive inadequate care from a less-qualified member of ambulance staff lacking a paramedic's skills. Continue reading...

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From Liz Truss to Jeremy Corbyn, Brexit to net zero, who are the key figures and crucial issues to look out for at the main party conferences?Although the next general election may be more than a year away, the main parties are already beginning to outline positions on key issues - a process likely to intensify with the start of conference season this weekend.The Liberal Democrats are the first to gather on Saturday, with the party faithful converging on Bournemouth, followed by the Conservatives next weekend in Manchester and then Labour and the Scottish National party. Here is what to expect: Continue reading...

Guardian investigation finds six of seven tested vapes were being sold in breach of UK lawVapes sold on Amazon as nicotine-free" have been found by a Guardian investigation to contain the highly addictive substance.The Guardian tested seven products from the online marketplace that stated on the sellers' pages that they contained no nicotine, and six were found to contain the stimulant. It is illegal in the UK to sell vapes containing nicotine as nicotine-free". Continue reading...

First buses to return to public control since deregulation to offer cheaper fares across integrated transport systemThe first buses to be brought back into public control in England since deregulation in the 1980s will set out from depots in Bolton and Wigan on Sunday morning.Greater Manchester will launch its Bee Network, which promises better, cheaper transport with fares capped across an integrated public transport system that combines buses and Metrolink trams. Continue reading...