World news | The Guardian

Prime minister took only four questions but showed lack of contrition in lightning fast appearance that will not have secured goodwill

Draft guidelines for England state protocols can be initiated in relation to treatments obtained privatelyYoung transgender people could be referred to safeguarding agencies if they access puberty blockers and hormone therapies on the private market after being told by a public health professional they should not be taking them, new draft guidelines from England’s National Health Service suggest.If NHS professionals decide a patient should not be taking puberty blockers or hormone treatments obtained privately, they can advise the patient’s primary care doctor to initiate “safeguarding protocols”, according to draft guidelines seen by the Reuters news agency. Continue reading...

PM makes second climbdown and sacks chancellor after package of unfunded tax cuts sent the pound tumbling

Memorial to German airman shot down in Spanish civil war had been looked after by Spanish ace who killed himA group that celebrates the republican pilots who fought fascism in the skies over Spain has condemned the vandalism of a memorial stone to a German airman that was looked after by an unlikely visitor – the Spanish ace who killed him.Friedrich Windemuth, a member of the notorious Condor Legion sent by Hitler to aid Franco during the Spanish civil war, died after being shot down over northern Catalonia by the Spanish pilot José Falcó in February 1939. Continue reading...

Former leadership contender is back in cabinet as PM tries to reach out to other sections of Tory partyJeremy Hunt has been appointed as Liz Truss’s new chancellor, in a stunning reversal of political fortune and a sign that the beleaguered prime minister wants to reach out to other sections of the Conservative party.Hunt, the former foreign secretary and health secretary, who has twice tried unsuccessfully to become Conservative leader, was named chancellor after Kwasi Kwarteng, in the job for just over five weeks, was sacked by Truss ahead of another U-turn over tax cuts. Continue reading...

While some insist the unrest will eventually peter out, others warn there is something more fundamental at playA shaken Iranian political elite is struggling with whether to frame the protests shaking the country as primarily the product of a covert foreign intelligence conspiracy, or instead a dangerous warning that the values of the Islamic Revolution have lost sway over a new generation infected by a western controlled internet, analysts say.The debate, in which there are many shades of grey, matters since it determines whether the response should be a security crackdown coupled with retribution against the outside forces of disruption or some kind of dialogue with the largely leaderless youth. Continue reading...

Competition watchdog to rule on monopoly of radio system used by police, fire and ambulance services amid concern over profitsThe UK competition watchdog is to introduce price controls on how much Motorola can charge the government for running the communication network used by police, fire and other emergency services, after finding it will make £1.1bn in excess profits by 2026.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said a lack of competition meant the US company, which runs the Airwave radio network that allows emergency services to communicate securely, is making £160m in excess profits annually. Continue reading...

The decision to end the relationship with West and clothing brand Yeezy predates recent controversies and array of antisemitic commentsThe US bank JP Morgan Chase has ended its relationship with Kanye West and his clothing brand Yeezy Inc – although the decision predates the rapper and designer’s recent controversies in which he wore a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt and shared racist conspiracy theories in an unaired interview.Candace Owens, the conservative US commentator whom West has associated with in recent years, shared a letter from the bank, dated 20 September, on Twitter. Continue reading...

Chancellor cuts short International Monetary Fund meetings after insisting his job is safe, as Liz Truss appears to take reins on corporation tax cutKwasi Kwarteng has dramatically cut short his visit to the International Monetary Fund, flying home early from Washington in response to the mounting political crisis over his tax-cutting budget.Adding to signs that the government is preparing to announce a U-turn over its plan to scrap a rise in corporation tax, the chancellor left the US capital a day earlier than planned. Continue reading...

Confidant of Higgins tells court he told an adviser about alleged rape by Bruce Lehrmann, with her permission. Lehrmann denies the charge

Family friends and colleagues testify that Higgins’s demeanour changed drastically after the night she alleges she was raped by Bruce Lehrmann, who denies the charge

Chancellor does not rule out increasing corporation tax when asked about whether government will perform U-turnThe Home Office has taken the modern slavery brief away from the minister responsible for safeguarding and classed it as an “illegal immigration and asylum” issue, updated online ministerial profiles show.The move is seen as a clear sign that the department is doubling down on Suella Braverman’s suggestion that people are “gaming” the modern slavery system and that victims of the crime are no longer being prioritised.The largest single group of modern slavery victims under the referral system last year were British children – including those who were exploited through county lines. The evidence shows the majority of exploitation takes place in the UK rather than across borders.The government should be treating this as an enforcement and safeguarding issue and taking stronger action against the crime of modern slavery wherever it takes place. Continue reading...

Eritrean woman, 28, in acute distress having spent most of her life in search of safetyA heavily pregnant rape survivor from Eritrea has been threatened with forced removal to Rwanda by the Home Office.Human rights campaigners say it is the “most egregious” case they have come across so far in the government’s scheme to outsource the processing of UK asylum claims to the east African country. Continue reading...

Reversing key plank of her leadership pitch would be far bigger humiliation for Liz Truss than 45p rate U-turnThe clamour among Conservative MPs for a third U-turn by Liz Truss started the same as the others: one MP begins as an outrider, backed by some party veterans or ex-cabinet ministers, and the question catches alight across broadcasters who ask every MP they see. Soon enough, it is received wisdom.Most MPs who are squeamish about deposing their third prime minister had hoped that they would see change in the markets and contrition from No 10 and 11 after the U-turn on the 45p rate. Over the course of the past week, it has been clear to them that will not happen. Continue reading...

With speculation mounting of another mini-budget U-turn, we look at what the PM and her allies said about her policyLiz Truss put adherence to principle at the heart of her bid for the leadership of the Conservative party, often using her support for cutting corporation tax to illustrate a wider preference for letting people and businesses keep more of their own money.However, now the policy has been mooted as one of those that could be chopped to help fill a £65bn black hole of unfunded revenue loss in the mini-budget. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Coroner suspects ‘undercount’ as a decade of suicide data is released to the public

UN votes to condemn Russia’s annexation of parts of Ukraine; Nato allies pledge to deliver more air defence systems to Kyiv Continue reading...

German chancellor’s language hardens after Russian strikes on major Ukrainian cities• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updatesThe German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has accused Vladimir Putin of waging “a crusade against our way of life”, in a shift of rhetoric days after heavy Russian missile strikes hit major Ukrainian cities.“They consider their war against Ukraine to be part of a larger crusade,” Scholz said in a video address to a summit of European socialist, liberal and green politicians and thinkers in Berlin. Continue reading...

Latest data shows health service coming under increased pressure even before winter beginsThe number of people waiting for an appointment with the NHS in England has topped 7 million for the first time in August.Other unwelcome records were recorded elsewhere, with 56.9% of patients attending major A&Es in September were seen within four hours, a record low. Continue reading...

Eliza Doolittle’s sparkling dress is one of 100 items that celebrate ‘transformative power’ of musicalsWeighed down by diamante, rhinestones, pearls, crystal beads, sequins and long, pale gold bullion fringe, it is a miracle that Julie Andrews ever managed to navigate the stairs she descended at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane while singing I Could Have Danced All Night.The dress she wore when playing Eliza Doolittle in the 1958 production of My Fair Lady won acclaim for its designer, the legendary Cecil Beaton. The show ran in London for five and a half years, and was thought to be the most expensive then staged in the West End. Continue reading...

Peak body says assurances given and must be upheld or trust with rural Australia ‘will be broken’

Energy watchdog will urge households to save energy ‘where possible’The UK’s energy regulator will advise households to reduce their gas and electricity use “where possible” after the government blocked a state-led information campaign amid fears over potential blackouts this winter.Ofgem’s chief executive, Jonathan Brearley, is expected to announce the regulator’s public information campaign on Thursday, when he will tell the Energy UK conference “this isn’t the time for complacency” as energy costs continue to rise. Continue reading...

Under-fire prime minister has awkward exchange with monarch at first weekly audienceLiz Truss could be forgiven for assuming her first weekly audience with King Charles would offer respite from a week of political disaster and economic ruin. It did not play out that way.It took just 15 seconds of video from the meeting at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday night for the monarch to make things worse. Continue reading...

Annastacia Palaszczuk acknowledged cultural issues, but says they’re ‘not unique’ to police

Experts take a forensic look at the PM’s promise to axe to up to 2,400 laws on British statute booksLiz Truss has promised to “consign to history” all EU red tape within the next year, axing to up to 2,400 laws on British statute books.It was not just party conference rhetoric. Her government is planning to pass legislation to give itself the power to simply switch off 40 years of EU harmonisation legislation at the stroke of midnight 31 December 2023. No list of laws targeted has been published. Continue reading...

Authorities announce plans to reduce Wivenhoe dam level to mitigate flood risk, with residents encouraged to start hosing

Government says authorities will refer children under 12 and their families to parenting and behavioural change programs to break the cycle of offending

State school pupils twice as likely to feel they have fallen behind than peers in private schools, landmark study findsFour out of five teenagers say their academic progress has suffered as a result of the pandemic, with state school pupils twice as likely to feel they have fallen behind than their peers in private schools, according to initial findings from a landmark study.Half of the 16- and 17-year-olds questioned said the Covid disruption had left them less motivated to study, while 45% felt they have not been able to catch up with lost learning.There was a lot of chaos in my life at the time and then we went into lockdown quite unprepared. There was a lot of confusion about schooling. I didn’t really have access to technology. I didn’t have online lessons, things like that. There was work that went on every week, but I couldn’t access it because I didn’t have the internet. I remember talking to one of my friends and they were like, ‘Oh have you seen the work that’s been put for English’, and I was like, ‘We have work?’It was only in the September when we came back I finally got more support. I got a laptop and I got better access. A lot of people in my school had issues like me. A lot of people didn’t have technology or they didn’t have structured lessons, so we’ve had a lot to try to catch up on. A lot of the lessons have been quite content-heavy because it felt like we were trying to do two years in one, so that was quite stressful. And I felt like I had to work harder to do my GCSEs. I felt I had to do more to recover to my peers’ level. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Casey Jenkins, who alleges council’s withdrawal of funding was discriminatory, says ‘security for costs’ order is ‘cynical’

Kim Jong-un says tests are a warning to Pyongyang’s enemies and its nuclear combat forces were at ‘full preparedness for actual war’Kim Jong-un supervised the launch of two long-range cruise missiles, North Korean state media said, adding that the weapons were equipped to carry tactical nukes and had already been deployed to some army units.Pyongyang has conducted a blitz of ballistic missile tests recently, which it described as tactical nuclear drills that simulated taking out airports and military facilities across South Korea. Continue reading...

Lawyer argues Natalie Moses exercised her workplace right to go to the regulator, and her suspension amounts to adverse action

Reserve bank says system is back up and running on Thursday, and they are working to clear the backlog

Influential National party figure said he had never voted ‘anything other than right’, but that some on the right were ‘getting pretty crazy’Former New Zealand prime minister Sir John Key has suggested he would have voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 US election, and far-right president Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil’s 2022 elections, had he been eligible to do so.Key, who served three terms as prime minister from 2008 to 2016, revealed his preferences in a quick-fire round of 20 questions that featured at the end of a new online series called Both Sides Now, hosted by members of the Labour and National youth wings. Continue reading...

Chief executive says feedback from workers has been ‘a huge thank you to the management of Qantas for getting the company through the Covid period’

Exclusive: Donation is believed to be the largest single donation towards helping solve the problem of uncorrected blurry visionMacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist and former wife of the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has donated $15m (£13.5m) to a social enterprise that helps provide glasses to farmers in developing countries.Scott’s donation to VisionSpring is believed to be the largest single private donation towards helping solve the problem of uncorrected blurry vision which leaves hundreds of millions of people in poverty. Continue reading...

Below-inflation rise would save exchequer tenth of £40bn to be given out through tax cuts, says thinktankIf the government raises benefits in line with earnings rather than inflation next year, it would drastically cut the incomes of poorer working-age families, while saving less than a tenth of the cost of recent tax cuts, a leading economic thinktank has calculated.Such a change, which would mean a significant real-terms cut given that wages are rising at 5.5% with inflation close to 10%, could see the effective income of some families reduced by up to £1,000 a year, the Resolution Foundation said. Continue reading...

Settlement was down from £41.7bn, reflecting payments already made to cover UK obligationsThe UK’s Brexit “divorce bill” stood at €41.8bn (£36.7bn) in 2021, according to the EU’s official auditors.The European court of auditors’ annual report revealed that the UK was expected to make €10.9bn in payments to the EU during 2022. Continue reading...

Film shown to hundreds of Australians and Indonesians at late-night ceremony depicted explosions and their gruesome aftermath

Campaign adviser says public should be told of any progress on securing Assange’s release if he is extradited from UK

PM accused of ‘trashing’ Conservative values and a PMQs performance that was ‘just appalling’Liz Truss’ leadership was in fresh peril on Wednesday with calls growing among senior Conservatives to reverse more proposed tax cuts and MPs accusing her of “trashing” Conservative values.As the cost of government borrowing soared further, Truss used her second PMQs appearance to “absolutely” rule out further spending cuts, instead allowing borrowing to rise over the next few years. Continue reading...

Rob made 20 jumps strapped into a special harness, including one into Nazi-held Italy with the SASBravery medals awarded to a collie called Rob that made 20 parachute jumps during the second world war and is credited with frequently saving his human colleagues have sold at auction for a record £140,000.Rob was strapped into a special harness and calmly followed infantry troops into north Africa and parachuted into Nazi-held Italy with the SAS, one of his jobs to stand guard and alert his human comrades of danger by licking their faces. Continue reading...

Advocates call for reform as report finds residents left with untreated wounds, overcharged and wrongly prevented from leaving

Former prime minister suggests royal family ‘would have been so glad’ if 1999 referendum on becoming a republic succeeded

Casey Jenkins believes emails linking then arts minister to council’s withdrawal of funding may not have been disclosed, their lawyers said in court

Sayed Abdellatif has been held in immigration detention since 2012 after being convicted of terrorism offences in Cairo in a discredited trial

Eight people detained in Russia over Crimea bridge attack; Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station loses off-site power again Continue reading...

DJ and presenter will take over the reality TV show returns for ninth series early next yearMaya Jama is to succeed Laura Whitmore as the host of Love Island, it has been announced.ITV said Jama would take over when the reality TV show returns for its ninth series early next year. Continue reading...

MPs question union leader and Network Rail negotiator over progress on resolving disputeTalks to resolve the rail dispute have yet to start discussing pay, according to union leader Mick Lynch, dampening hopes of a breakthrough before more strikes are called.The RMT’s general secretary said the union was still negotiating to avoid redundancies and cuts to maintenance work before they would tackle pay. Continue reading...

Analysis of ONS data shows black African women earn 26% less than men; Bangladeshi women 28% and Pakistani women 31%Most UK women from ethnic minority backgrounds have already stopped earning two months before Equal Pay Day, a new analysis by the Labour party shows, renewing calls for the government to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reports.Last year, 18 November was marked by Fawcett Society as Equal Pay Day, the last day in the year where the average woman stopped earning relative to the average male worker because of the gender pay gap. Continue reading...

Retailer to open 104 Simply Food outlets as high street chain speeds up turnaround plan amid rising costsMarks & Spencer is planning to close 25% of its bigger stores selling clothing and homeware while opening more than 100 new Simply Food outlets, as it speeds up its turnaround plan in the face of a “difficult economic backdrop” and rising costs.The retailer told investors it aims to have 180 “full-line” shops – selling its full range of food, clothing and homeware products – by early 2028, down from 247 at present, and said it would get rid of “lower productivity” outlets. Continue reading...