World news | The Guardian

Britons finding it easier to manage budgets and monitor spending using notes and coinsThe Post Office handled a record of almost £3.5bn in cash for customers in August, against a backdrop of bank branch closures and the cost of living crisis.The £3.45bn in cash crossing Post Office counters in August was the highest total since it began recording volumes it handles through its 11,500 local branches five years ago. August is traditionally a quieter month for cash transactions at its branches. Continue reading...

Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who becomes shortest serving PM in Malaysian history, hopes to win stronger mandate for his partyMalaysia’s prime minister, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, has called for an early election, hoping to win a stronger mandate for his party and stabilise the rocky political landscape that has plagued the country over the last four years.The ruling party’s rush for an election comes as the economy, still recovering from the Covid pandemic, has begun to feel the pinch of rising costs and a global slowdown. Continue reading...

About 250 whales beached on remote Chatham Islands just days after another stranding involving similar number of mammals

Former Tory chancellor also calls on Kwasi Kwarteng to speed up release of OBR forecastsLiz Truss must increase benefits in line with inflation rather than earnings, the former chancellor Sajid Javid has said, as the prime minister faces increasing Conservative pressure to relent over the issue.Victoria Prentis, the work and pensions minister, insisted no decision had been made, while seeming to hint she would prefer the more generous settlement. Continue reading...

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Ten winners will be given advice on how to create safe cycling infrastructure as well as head off vocal criticsCities around the world will have the chance to compete for $1m (£902,000) in funding as well as expertise to build new cycling infrastructure under a plan launched by the charitable foundation set up by Mike Bloomberg, who as New York mayor pioneered new bike lanes in the city.Under the scheme, launched on Monday by Bloomberg Philanthropies, 10 cities will be awarded up to $1m each to create safe cycling routes, and will also be given help designing the schemes and on engaging with residents and potential opposition. Continue reading...

Scientist Alicia Quartermain concerned evidence may have been omitted from criminal casesDNA evidence may have been omitted from criminal cases in Queensland because some samples weren’t tested thoroughly, with closer scrutiny of examples from sexual assault cases showing “usable” profiles, an inquiry has heard.The probe, led by former judge Walter Sofronoff, is examining the state-run lab’s 2018 decision to stop testing samples that contained tiny amounts of DNA. Continue reading...

Recently re-elected Krišjānis Kariņš argues potential wave of Russians fleeing mobilisation poses security riskLatvia’s prime minister, Krišjānis Kariņš, has called on EU leaders to stop all tourist visas for Russians, reigniting the debate about further tightening sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.Speaking to the Guardian, Kariņš rejected the idea that allowing Russians seeking to evade the draft to enter the EU would be a way to weaken the Kremlin’s armed forces. He said it was understandable that many men would not wish “to go and fight and likely die in Ukraine” and this could trigger a “potential huge immigration wave coming from Russia”, but contended that posed a security risk to Europe. “I think the political dissenters have mostly already left. Then there will be economic opportunists, many, many other reasons and people with unknown loyalties.” Continue reading...

The longest-serving executive producer of 60 Minutes, ‘didn’t care about political correctness’, colleagues say

Attack that left 37 dead was carried out by former police officer dismissed from the force for methamphetamine possessionThe Thai prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, has ordered a clampdown on drugs, including an emphasis on rehabilitation, following the mass shooting and stabbing at a nursery in north-eastern Thailand that left 37 people dead, mostly young children.The unprecedented attack has shaken Thailand, where mass killings are rare, and prompted calls for a tougher stance on drugs. It was carried out by a former police officer, identified by police as Panya Khamrab, who had been dismissed from the force for methamphetamine possession. Continue reading...

Artist, academic and psychologist Debra Keenahan tells disability royal commission she is harassed by strangers once a month

Experts say the progressive vote is disillusioned with incremental changes brought in by Ardern Labour governmentLate in the campaign period of Auckland’s mayoral election came a spate of strange, oddly specific, billboard vandalism. As the race in New Zealand’s most populous city wound to its conclusion, boardings for Efeso Collins, an independent progressive candidate and mayoral frontrunner, were plasteredwith red “Labour” party logos.Compared with the moustaches and monobrows that typically bedeck election billboards, it seemed an innocuous choice for vandals. But Collins’ campaign said it was an act of politicised sabotage. “None of our allies or volunteers have been doing it,” a spokesperson told The Spinoff. “We believe it’s an attack tactic.” Continue reading...

Legitimacy of court-appointed ‘experts’ to come under review after mother loses custody appealOne of Britain’s most senior judges is to examine issues relating to the regulation of court-appointed experts who provide evidence about child welfare in private custody hearings – and, in particular, where “parental alienation” is a feature.Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the family division of the high court, will oversee an appeal later this month brought by a mother who challenged the qualifications of a court-appointed expert who found she had “alienated” her children from their father. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Simon Clarke hopes to win over blue wall Tories by ending new-home targets as well as green and affordability rulesSimon Clarke, the levelling up secretary, threatens to reignite the feud over housebuilding within the Conservative party with a significant “planning reset” that could water down environmental protections and affordable home requirements across England.The latest in Liz Truss’s string of supply side reforms – nicknamed “Operation Rolling Thunder” in Whitehall – is slated to be launched by Clarke within weeks, and is expected to see him argue for a flurry of housing development as part of the government’s “dash for growth”. Continue reading...

Online history centre launches against backdrop of renewed debate over the conflict’s legacyIn the middle of September, three weeks before Spain’s senate approved a landmark law to honour the victims of the Spanish civil war and the subsequent Franco dictatorship, a new museum quietly threw open its digital doors.The Virtual Museum of the Spanish Civil War, an online history centre that has been almost a decade in the making, may chronicle and examine a conflict that ended 83 years ago but its aims could not be more timely. Continue reading...

Peers from all parties seeking to stop bill getting on statute books amid hope of more optimistic talksLiz Truss is facing a rebellion in the House of Lords over the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol which is proceeding to its next stage just as negotiations to end the dispute with the EU are resumed.It is scheduled to get a second reading in the House of Lords on Tuesday but peers organising the rebellion are planning to let it squeak through for tactical reasons. Continue reading...

Former Hollywood producer, 70, convicted on separate charges in New York in 2020, faces 11 counts for alleged attacks on five womenThe trial of Harvey Weinstein is starting in a California courtroom, marking the second time the former Hollywood titan is standing trial on accusations of sexual assault.Weinstein, now 70, is facing 11 sexual assault charges for alleged attacks against five women between 2004 to 2013. The accusations include forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint and sexual penetration by use of force. Continue reading...

Kim Jong-un said his forces were “completely ready to hit and destroy targets at any time from any location”

Exclusive: documents show the former minister pushed for the compulsory acquisition of Penrith Paceway for a new stadium to be built in his seat

Criticism mounts of Victoria’s police oversight model, with Andrews government urged to establish new watchdog

A 3% pay rise for team managers amid 10% inflation comes after a string of wage rises for hourly staffThousands of Tesco staff have been forced to take a large real-terms pay cut as the supermarket puts a squeeze on store managers while offering bigger wage rises for lower-paid workers.In the latest pay battle amid the cost of living crisis, the retailer’s team managers, who earn about £30,000 a year, say they have received as little as a 3% pay rise. The official rate of inflation is close to 10%, and expected to hit 11% this month. Continue reading...

One-quarter of federal government’s $200m advertising budget going towards politicised messaging, Grattan Institute says

Buyers will be able to choose a $400 annual fee and 0.3% of the land value while it’s their primary residence instead of stamp duty

Vessel capsized in Ogbaru area of Anambra state, one of 29 to have experienced heavy flooding this yearThe death toll from a boat accident in Nigeria’s south-eastern state of Anambra has risen to 76, the president has said.The vessel capsized on Friday amid heavy flooding in the Ogbaru area of Anambra, according to officials on Saturday, when they said at least 10 people had died and 60 were missing. Continue reading...

Ciolac, 35, died in hospital after officer reportedly fired three shots at man armed with knifeA man who was shot dead by armed officers in the car park of a police station in Derby has been named as Marius Ciolac.Armed officers were called at 9.55am on Friday after officers reported seeing a man armed with a knife in the secure car park of Ascot Drive police station. Continue reading...

Russian president blames Ukrainian special services for ‘destroying critically important civilian infrastructure’

Exclusive: Tory MPs warn PM she would lose vote on increasing benefits only in line with earnings rather than inflationLiz Truss is teetering on the edge of performing another big U-turn as Tory MPs warned she would lose a vote on delivering a real-terms cut to benefits while new research showed the move could push an extra 450,000 people into poverty.Despite desperate pleas for party unity from senior ministers after weeks of bitter infighting, the row over welfare threatened to overshadow the prime minister’s attempt to reassert her authority when the Commons returns from recess on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Authorities shut all schools in Iranian Kurdistan as protests continue in cities and state TV is interrupted by apparent hackIranian schoolchildren were being arrested inside school premises on Sunday by security forces arriving in vans without licence plates, according to social media reports emerging from the country as protests against the regime entered their fourth week.The authorities also shut all schools and higher education institutions in Iranian Kurdistan on Sunday – a sign that the state remains concerned about dissent after weeks of protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman. Continue reading...

Brian Glendinning’s case highlights peril for football fans travelling to the Gulf nation this year, experts warnA British engineer is in jail in Iraq and facing extradition to Qatar over missed repayments on a small bank loan, in a case said to highlight the perils facing those travelling to the Gulf state for the World Cup.Brian Glendinning, 43, who had been contracted to work on a BP refinery in Iraq, was arrested on an Interpol “red notice” at Baghdad airport on 12 September and has been in a police cell since awaiting an extradition hearing. Continue reading...

The country’s total refinery output has been reduced by more than 60% over the past two weeksLong tailbacks of vehicles continued to grow outside French service stations on Sunday as petrol supply was hit by pay strikes at refineries run by the oil giants, TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil.The leftwing CGT union is leading a refinery workers’ strike for better pay during the cost-of-living crisis, and for a share of companies’ high profits. Continue reading...

Russian president claims Ukrainian special forces behind explosion on Kerch bridge

Kunti Kamara charged with torture, cannibalism and complicity in crimes against humanity during civil war between 1989 and 1996A former Liberian rebel commander will go on trial in Paris on Monday charged with acts of barbarity including torture, cannibalism, forced labour and complicity in crimes against humanity during the country’s first civil war more than 25 years ago.It is the first trial in France of a non-Rwandan suspect accused of wartime atrocities since the special crimes against humanity tribunal was set up in Paris in 2012. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lib Dems accuse PM of ‘taking taxpayer for a ride’ with expense of 20 overseas trips between January and June this yearLiz Truss racked up a bill of almost £2m on overseas visits during her final months as foreign secretary, according to new analysis that the Liberal Democrats said showed she had “quite literally been taking the taxpayer for a ride”.In 20 trips during the first six months of the year, a total of £1.8m was spent, despite the now prime minister’s call for prudence with public money and government departments being told to find “efficiency savings”. Continue reading...

News broadcaster’s footage of building’s blood-stained floor sparked police investigationCNN has said it deeply regrets any distress caused by its report on the nursery killings in north-east Thailand, after its footage of the building’s blood-stained floor sparked a police investigation and a debate over how the media should cover such tragedies.The US network’s report, which has since been pulled, was condemned by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand and the Thai Journalists Association, while police launched an inquiry over allegations the crew entered the crime scene without authorisation. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK’s most senior female bishop calls for long-awaited white paper promising ‘bold action’The most senior female bishop in the country has launched a scathing attack on the government, accusing it of “burying its head in the sand” over “shocking” and “rampant” health inequalities.Dame Sarah Mullally, the bishop of London, spoke out after the Guardian reported that Thérèse Coffey was dropping the government’s long-promised white paper on health disparities. Continue reading...

Scottish first minister said she ‘detested’ Conservatives and wanted a Labour government in LondonNicola Sturgeon has said she would prefer a Labour government in London but was accused of employing “dangerous language” when she added she “detested” the Tories.The Scottish first minister said Labour would clearly do a better job at Westminster than Liz Truss’s Conservatives, even though she said Keir Starmer had “thrown in the towel” on the EU by refusing to reverse Brexit. Continue reading...

Plan would see a 30% tax imposed, which analysis suggests will add $1.21bn in revenue over a decade

Minister takes aim at Coalition’s handling of defence projects, saying money was ‘flushed down the toilet’

Ineos Automotive’s plans for Grenadier 4x4 hit by global supply chain disruptionSir Jim Ratcliffe’s drive to make a rival to the Land Rover Defender has racked up steep losses amid difficulty sourcing parts because of global supply chain disruption.Pre-tax losses at Ineos Automotive, a subsidiary of the billionaire’s chemicals conglomerate, doubled to €212m (£186m) last year, accounts filed with Companies House show. It has run up total losses of €506m since its inception in 2017, and last year received a loan of €944m from its parent company, on top of €471m in 2020. It plans to repay the loan from future revenues from the off-road vehicle. Continue reading...

Headaches facing the prime minister may worsen infighting beyond the Conservative party conferenceLiz Truss and her cabinet have launched a fresh bid for unity after the most difficult party conference the Conservatives have seen in years saw MPs and ministers openly attacking her policies.However, the appeal for an end to infighting may only offer a temporary reprieve, given the headaches facing the prime minister this autumn. Continue reading...

Vladimir Putin orders extra security around Kerch bridge in Crimea as limited traffic starts to resume

In a now viral video of a 2016 interview, the Brazilian president claims he would eat human fleshIt was a shocking statement, even for a politician who has glorified torturers and called for rivals to be shot.“I’d eat an Indian, no problem at all,” Jair Bolsonaro bragged to a foreign journalist in 2016, as he described a trip to an Indigenous community where he had purportedly been offered the chance to consume human flesh. Continue reading...

Tributes pour in for Creeslough victims, among them three children including Shauna Flanagan Garwe, fiveShauna Flanagan Garwe, five, and her father, Robert Garwe, were in the petrol station shop buying a birthday cake for Shauna’s mother.Leona Harper, 14, was choosing an ice-cream from the fridge. Jessica Gallagher, 23, was a designer who had recently moved back home after a stint in Paris. Catherine O’Donnell, 39, was with her 14-year-old son James Monaghan. Continue reading...

Cabinet minister says it is ‘only right we plan for every scenario’ after National Grid warningBlackouts this winter are “extremely unlikely” and government plans to ensure the UK has enough energy mean people will be able to enjoy Christmas, a senior cabinet minister has said.Nadhim Zahawi, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said it was “only right that we plan for every scenario,” but confirmed a £14m public information campaign advising people how to conserve energy would not go ahead. Continue reading...

Exclusive: People not trying to claim being trafficked to gain UK asylum, says head of labour abuse authorityThe head of Britain’s labour abuse watchdog says her organisation has not seen anyone “gaming” the modern slavery system for immigration purposes.The comments directly contradict the home secretary, Suella Braverman, who said last week that trafficking claims from “people gaming the system” were “derailing the UK’s policy on illegal migration”. Continue reading...

‘What I have lived, the youth is living now,’ says Marjane Satrapi, whose graphic novel depicted girl’s life in 1979 Islamic revolutionThe creator of Persepolis, the acclaimed graphic novel depicting the childhood of an Iranian girl during and after the 1979 Islamic revolution that was made into an Oscar-nominated movie, has said today’s protesters are “beautiful and inspiring”.History was repeating itself in the protests sweeping across the country, Marjane Satrapi told the Guardian. “What I have lived, the youth is living now. My hope is that the situation will go towards something beautiful that is called freedom and democracy.Persepolis book art will be auctioned on 19-25 October as part of Sotheby’s online 20th century art/Middle East sale. The works will be exhibited in Sotheby’s London galleries from 21 October Continue reading...

Ex-minister urges Truss to stop being a ‘disrupter’ and calls on her to ‘start engaging with the parliamentary party’Nadine Dorries has warned the Conservatives could face “complete wipeout” at a general election and urged Liz Truss to stop being a “disrupter”, while a cabinet minister called on warring colleagues to back the prime minister.After a week of bitter feuding overshadowed this week’s Tory party conference, Dorries said Truss should “start engaging with the parliamentary party”. Continue reading...

Simple measures to cut gas and electricity costs, from hooded blankets to chimney balloons

Rising costs are also forcing local councils to ration energy use, raising fears for the safety of vulnerable peopleLiz Truss has ignored the government’s own climate advisers in opposing an energy-saving campaign this winter, it has emerged, amid mounting frustration over her resistance to the plan.The advisory body the Climate Change Committee wrote to the prime minister last month outlining the need for a “comprehensive energy advice service” to reduce demand. Continue reading...

Writers at annual book event in Ukrainian city say storytelling and art have helped many endure violenceIn a time of violence, warfare and bloodshed, what is the use of literature? This was a question addressed at the Lviv BookForum, a three-day literary festival in the Ukrainian city, staged despite – and in defiance of – the Russian invasion.The festival has brought together Ukrainian, British and international authors including human rights lawyer Philippe Sands, whose bestselling book, East West Street, is largely set in 20th-century Lviv. Continue reading...