World news | The Guardian

Increase will pile more pressure on government to announce further support for households this winter

David Elliott hopes a deal is brokered next week, but warns of up to six months of further train delays if it isn’t

Government also cites food security after heatwave stunted domestic output and drove up pricesIndia’s cabinet has approved restrictions on wheat flour exports to calm prices in the local market.The government banned the export of wheat itself in mid-May as a heatwave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high. That ban boosted demand for Indian wheat flour, exports of which jumped 200% between April and July from a year ago, and lifted prices in the local market, the government said on Thursday. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese announces details of new inquiry to be led by former high court justice Virginia Bell

As opening salvo begins in dispute that could reshape a UK institution, group chair does not mince his wordsIn a summer when picket lines have become a familiar sight, the casual observer could be forgiven for mistaking Friday’s strike at Royal Mail as a cookie-cutter pay dispute. In fact, the strike, the first of four, represents the culmination of years of simmering tensions between executives and its main union. If Royal Mail’s board takes the nuclear option, it could result in the break up of a 500-year-old postal service still struggling to find its feet nearly a decade after privatisation.The corporate drama intensified on Thursday when the government said it would step in to review the billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s stake in the company. The investor, known as the Czech Sphinx owing to his inscrutable public persona, hopes to raise his Vesa Equity Investment’s shareholding in Royal Mail from 22% to above 25%, sparking speculation he may launch a full takeover bid. Continue reading...

Donate the Rebate organisers say £5.4m could be redistributed from ‘uber-rich’ to people in needSecond homeowners in Cornwall are being urged to donate their £400 government energy rebates to impoverished neighbours facing hardship this winter through a scheme launched on Friday and backed by business leaders, charities and politicians.Those behind the Donate the Rebate scheme says that if every second homeowner in Cornwall took part, £5.4m could be re-distributed from the “uber-rich”, who would hardly notice the payment, to people who desperately need help in one of northern Europe’s poorest regions. Continue reading...

Once plans for the series came undone, producer Ryan Naumenko found himself the victim of a plot arranged by the former wife of underworld killer Carl Williams and her associates

Honiara did not respond to request for coast guard vessel to refuel amid tensions over security pact with ChinaA United States coast guard vessel was unable to enter Solomon Islands for a routine port call because its government did not respond to a request to refuel and provision, a US official said.The Solomons government did not immediately answer a Reuters request for comment. It has had a tense relationship with the US and its allies since striking a security pact with China in May. Continue reading...

Efficiency standards and increased accessibility for Australian housing are under discussion at meeting of building ministers in Sydney

In the latest example of ‘shrinkflation’, the popular chocolate bar has lost a chunk of weight in a move from overseas production back to Ballarat

Kiribati’s court of appeal said government’s latest bid to deport high court justice David Lambourne on national security grounds was ‘far-fetched’Kiribati’s constitutional crisis is no closer to resolution, with the country’s court of appeal criticising the government for its conduct towards suspended high court judge David Lambourne, an Australian citizen.In an extraordinary judgment on Friday, the appeals court – consisting of three retired New Zealand judges – upheld an earlier decision that had found efforts to undermine Lambourne’s tenure unconstitutional. Lambourne is a longtime resident of Kiribati and formerly the nation’s solicitor general. His wife, Tessie Lambourne, is the opposition leader. Continue reading...

Teenager was handed two-month minimum term after being found guilty in MayA teenage boy sentenced for raping a fellow high school pupil at a house party in the New South Wales Blue Mountains has been bailed, pending appeal.The boy was handed a two-month minimum term on Thursday after being found guilty in May of attacking the girl over a two-hour period on a mattress in the house’s living room. Continue reading...

More than 1,800kg of the drug concealed in marble stone, police say, with a separate discovery revealing ice and cocaine hidden behind the headlights of a 1960 Bentley S2

Shelling causes Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to be temporarily disconnected from the grid; Putin orders military to recruit another 137,000 combat personnel

Tory leadership hopeful says he was prevented from raising negative effects of Covid measures

Rust-belt novel set in a fictional Indiana town wins £5,000 cash prize and ‘ongoing commitment’ from the booksellerTess Gunty’s “fiercely original and innovative” The Rabbit Hutch has won the inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize.The Rabbit Hutch focuses on the residents of an affordable housing complex in the fictional rust-belt town of Vacca Vale, Indiana. Issues including poverty, gentrification and an inadequate care system are seen through the lens of Blandine, an “ethereally beautiful and formidably intelligent” young woman who is offered a chance to escape her surroundings. Continue reading...

Clearing house had been criticised for its lack of transparency and its powers to control informationAn “Orwellian” unit that was accused of obstructing the release of material requested by the public under the Freedom of Information Act is to be replaced, the government has announced.The Cabinet Office clearing house, which circulates details of certain FoI requests by journalists, campaigners and others around Whitehall and also advises on how to respond to them, is to be replaced by a freedom of information “centre of excellence”. Continue reading...

Power line restored after plant occupied by Russian troops taken off national grid for several hours; toll confirmed after Russian forces attack train station

Albanian gangs controlling UK drugs trade offer minibus trip and Channel crossing for £4,000 on TikTokOfficial data released on Thursday has confirmed suspicions that Albanians are now a prominent national group among the asylum seekers travelling across the Channel.But the Home Office and refugee charities are still trying to explain why there has been a recent surge in demand. Continue reading...

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant temporarily disconnected from national grid amid fears over disaster; Putin signs decree to increase armed forces

Interview with health secretary interrupted by woman who accuses him of ‘doing nothing’ about ambulance waitsThe health secretary has been confronted outside a hospital by a woman who angrily criticised the government for doing “bugger all” to fix record-high ambulance wait times.During an interview with broadcasters in central London on Thursday afternoon, Steve Barclay was told the Conservatives had had “long enough” to fix the NHS by a visibly angry member of the public. Continue reading...

Sol LeWitt never met Emily Kame Kngwarreye, who began painting in her 80s, but he was blown away by her work. A new AGNSW show celebrates their unlikely link

Commander Donna Wheatley alleges she was groped and had a senior officer expose his genitals

New research also says southern parts of the country may experience deadly heatwaves annually by that time

Thomas Mayor compares current fight for constitutional recognition to 1960s Wave Hill walk-off that led to land rights

Former chancellor admits if were defeated he would back emergency budget put forward by rival Truss

Force commander says some criticism of response to disappearance of student nurse does disservice to officers’ workThe Metropolitan police have denied racial bias had an impact on their investigation into the disappearance of the student nurse Owami Davies, who was found almost seven weeks after she went missing.

Analysis reveals locations of dental deserts as continuing fallout from pandemic leaves service ‘on last legs’Dental patients are still suffering from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic, as parts of England are left with only one NHS dentist for thousands of people.In North Lincolnshire, there were just 54 NHS dentists – equivalent to one for every 3,199 people – at the end of March, NHS Digital figures show. This means every NHS dentist in the area would have to work nine-hour days every working day of the year without holidays for each resident to receive one annual checkup on the NHS. Continue reading...

Order to increase personnel from 1.9 to 2.04 million comes as war in Ukraine enters seventh month

Further education and sixth form colleges ask why thousands of students have not received gradesFurther education and sixth form colleges are calling for the exam board Pearson to investigate the reasons for delays to BTec results, which have left thousands of students in limbo.

Exclusive: Labour has approached Zelenskiy administration about proposed visit later this year

Ian Katz also tells Edinburgh TV festival he is unsure whether new PM will push ahead with privatisation of channelChannel 4’s content boss has said the relaunches of old television shows such as Big Brother and Gladiators are “depressing”.Ian Katz said Big Brother is a “wonderful show” but he is more interested in bringing new shows to viewers: “I’m sure [Big Brother] will bring an audience to ITV, but I do think there is something depressing about this microwave moment with TV shows being reheated. If Channel 4 is about anything, it is about finding that new dish.” Continue reading...

Earl of Shrewsbury boasted ‘very considerable’ potential to open doors at top of government for firmA Conservative hereditary peer is under investigation for a second time by the House of Lords standards watchdog over allegations that he misused his parliamentary position to lobby for a firm that was paying him.The Earl of Shrewsbury claimed in correspondence that he was meeting a series of politicians and officials to promote a healthcare firm that employed him as a consultant. Continue reading...

Calls for mitigation measures to persist on day 2022 grades show downturn in line with official policyA full return to pre-pandemic GCSE examinations and grades should be delayed for a further year because next year’s cohort will need special adjustments due to the disruption caused by the pandemic, according to school leaders.On the day that about 600,000 pupils in England received their GCSE results after sitting the first public examinations in three years, the Association of School and College Leaders said pupils who are due to face exams next summer have also been disadvantaged by Covid and may require similar mitigations to this year’s cohort. Continue reading...

Doctors Without Borders has deployed at the Ter Apel site amid overcrowding and dire conditionsDutch officials are investigating the death of a baby at a vastly overcrowded centre for asylum seekers, as medical charity Doctors without Borders (MSF) deployed at the site for the first time.The infant’s death is the latest incident at the Ter Apel centre in northern Netherlands, where conditions were denounced by MSF as “inhuman”. Continue reading...

Early results give João Lourenço more than 60% of the vote despite surge for rival party UnitaEarly results from elections in Angola have put the incumbent president, João Lourenço, and the ruling People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) ahead.The polls are the most tightly contested vote in the country’s democratic history, and have been described by analysts as an “existential moment”. Continue reading...

More than three-quarters have claims approved, as figures show big rise in Albanians crossing ChannelThe proportion of refugees granted asylum in the UK has reached a 32-year high, as figures show the number of Albanians crossing the Channel in small boats has increased substantially over the last few months.Despite threats to send those reaching the UK by irregular means to Rwanda, the Home Office disclosed that more than three-quarters (76%) of asylum seekers had their claims for asylum, leave or humanitarian protection approved in the year ending June 2022. Continue reading...

Derek Skipper achieves highest possible grade – level 5 – in foundation maths and is ‘very pleased indeed’

Returning to previous grade distribution after two years of teacher assessment masks a slight improvement on 2019This summer’s GCSE results are the first from examinations in three years. Results are significantly lower than they were last year, but we really shouldn’t read anything into that. After two years of grades increasing with the use of teacher-assessed grades, the government signalled its intentions early that we should begin the process of returning to pre-pandemic grade distributions. In September, the qualifications regulator, Ofqual, announced that results would be around the midpoint of those seen in 2019 and 2021.This is exactly what we have seen in today’s data. The proportion of entries from 16-year-olds awarded a grade 4 or above is down from 79% last year to 75% today, and the proportion getting the higher grades (grade 7 and above), which peaked at 30% in 2021, has fallen to 27% this year. Continue reading...

Airlines have cut 290,000 seats from schedules, while drivers advised to ‘pack their patience’Travellers hoping to get away for the bank holiday weekend by road, rail and air are being advised to adjust their travel plans or “pack their patience” in anticipation of traffic jams, train disruptions and plane seat cancellations.According to aviation data from Cirium, about 290,000 seats have been cut from August bank holiday flight schedules in recent weeks. Outbound flights for the approaching weekend are 21% below 2019 levels, and approximately 900 inbound flights between Friday and Tuesday have been cancelled. Continue reading...

Pupils tell of struggle to study in lockdown as top grades fall in England following period of grade inflationWhen Oscar dos Santos opened his GCSE results at Birmingham’s City academy, he ran whooping through the school hall. “I got a nine!” he screamed. “I got a nine!”It had been a long journey for the 16-year-old, who spent the best part of two academic years studying at home during the Covid lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, and was now part of the first cohort to sit GCSE exams in two years. Continue reading...

Company that produces 60% of country’s supplies says high energy prices are forcing planned shutdownThe government has urged CO producers “to do everything they can” to meet food and drink industry demand, after one of the UK’s largest suppliers confirmed it was going to pause production at a key factory.CF Industries, the private US company that accounts for 60% of the UK’s CO supplies, said soaring energy prices meant it would have to “temporarily halt” production at its remaining UK ammonia plant, which creates the gas as a byproduct. Continue reading...

Hospitality sector in particular is finding it hard to renew contracts, with some asked for £10,000 depositMajor energy firms are refusing to supply small businesses out of concern that they could go bust, while some are demanding £10,000 up front, business owners and industry experts have told the Guardian.In the latest sign of the deepening energy crisis, business owners said they were struggling to find a supplier in the run-up to the busy October period for renewing gas and electricity contracts, leaving them facing “extortionate” bills or demands for a deposit. Continue reading...

Former interim chief, who helped develop voluntary contributions strategy, returns to companyThe Guardian’s parent company has appointed Anna Bateson as its new chief executive, shortly after the business announced its best financial results in recent years.Bateson previously spent four years at Guardian Media Group (GMG), where she helped develop the company’s voluntary contributions strategy which has seen millions of readers contribute towards the cost of running the news organisation without it installing a paywall. Continue reading...

Legislation that says consent cannot be assumed by default or silence was drawn up after ‘wolf pack’ caseSpain’s “only yes means yes” legislation on sexual consent is expected to become law when it is put to the vote in congress on Thursday.The law, under which consent must be affirmative and cannot be assumed to have been given by default or silence, was drawn up in the wake of the “wolf pack” gang rape in 2016. Continue reading...

Workers inundated with calls as people ‘have to choose between feeding themselves and feeding pets’The RSPCA has recorded a 24% increase in pets being dumped this year as shelters report they are “drowning in animals” amid the cost of living crisis.Workers are being inundated with calls from owners struggling to feed and care for their pets. Between January and July this year, the charity received 22,098 animal abandonment reports, up from 18,375 in the same period last year, while in the first five months of 2022, 49% more rabbits, 14% more cats and 3% more dogs were abandoned. Continue reading...

North Sea’s biggest oil and gas producer enjoys jump in fossil fuel prices following invasion of UkraineThe North Sea’s biggest oil and gas producer has become the latest big energy company to report huge earnings on the back of rising wholesale prices, with half-year profits rising 12-fold to $1.5bn (£1.3bn).Harbour Energy said it would hand an extra $200m to shareholders on the back of the bumper revenues, which were boosted by the jump in fossil fuel prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as extra income linked with its merger with Premier Oil. Continue reading...

Some asylum seekers have received letters saying government intends to remove them, the Guardian has learnedThe Home Office is planning a new deportation flight to Rwanda, the Guardian has learned.Some newly arrived asylum seekers in hotels have received letters from the department telling them their asylum claims are deemed inadmissible for consideration in the UK. Continue reading...

Vicky Bowman and her Burmese husband reportedly detained and charged with immigration offencesAuthorities in Myanmar have detained Britain’s former ambassador to the country in Yangon, a source said.Vicky Bowman and her husband, Htein Lin, a Burmese artist and former political prisoner, were arrested on Wednesday and charged with immigration offences, Reuters reported. They were remanded in custody and were being sent to Insein prison, it added. Continue reading...