World news | The Guardian

Anna Pasternak alleged Lara Prescott copied elements of her book about her great uncle Boris’s loverA descendant of the Doctor Zhivago author, Boris Pasternak, has lost a claim for copyright infringement against the writer of a novel about the publication of the Russian epic.Anna Pasternak claimed seven chapters in Lara Prescott’s work of historical fiction, The Secrets We Kept (TSWK), copied elements from her own book Lara, a 2016 biography of her great uncle’s lover Olga Ivinskaya. Continue reading...

Leader restates support for Ukraine and vows crackdown on illegal immigration in address to MPsGiorgia Meloni said she felt a “burden weighing on my shoulders” after “breaking the heavy glass ceiling” to become Italy’s first female prime minister, in an address to parliament restating her pledge to back Ukraine and her opposition to illegal immigration.Meloni, the leader of Brothers of Italy, a party with neofascist roots, has taken the helm of Italy’s most rightwing government – which includes Matteo Salvini’s far-right League and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia – since the second world war. Continue reading...

Firms aim to minimise rises by using cheaper paper and increasing print runs as raw material and energy cost hikes hit sectorThe price of books is likely to go up, say publishers – which are acting to avoid steep rises for readers.Some presses are exploring printing on cheaper and thinner paper, postponing reprints for older books and publishing fewer titles to reduce costs and avoid increasing recommended retail prices. Continue reading...

Boxer – who has been open about mental health struggles – will donate single’s proceeds to charity Talk ClubThe boxer Tyson Fury is set to release his debut single to raise money for the men’s mental health charity Talk Club.The two-time world heavyweight champion has covered Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, with the song slated for release next month. Continue reading...

January attack by Vasile Culea left Freda Walker dead and her husband Kenneth seriously injuredA burglar has been convicted of murdering an 86-year-old woman in her home after beating, gagging and tying her up and leaving her to die.Vasile Culea was also found guilty of the wounding with intent of Freda Walker’s 88-year-old husband, former district councillor and alderman Kenneth Walker, during the attack in January. Continue reading...

Unable to get Taylor Lloyd, 15, included in mainstream classes at his high school, his mother says she had to turn to home schooling

Possible challengers from within the party are emerging in Holsworthy and Camden ahead of March election

With alcohol-induced deaths at their highest rate in 10 years, one doctor says a quarter of his hospital’s ICU resources are being used to treat the illness

Premier Inn and restaurant chains owner reports profit bounceback to pre-Covid levelsThe owner of Premier Inn and restaurant chains including Beefeater has reported a bounceback in profits to above pre-Covid levels but warned of a £60m increase in costs this year fuelled by soaring inflation.Whitbread, which runs 844 Premier Inn hotels, also said it was increasing its target of number of rooms from 110,000 to 125,000 to take advantage of independent accommodation operators going bust in the UK and Ireland. Continue reading...

Scott Phillip White long denied murdering mathematician found at the bottom of Manly cliffs in 1988 before stating ‘I am guilty’ at pre-trial hearing

Another 15 people are missing after tensions between two groups boiled over into violenceTribal warfare on Kiriwina Island in Papua New Guinea’s east has left 32 people dead and 15 others missing, with fighting continuing.The fighting erupted on Monday between the Kulumata and Kuboma people on the island, which is in Milne Bay province. Continue reading...

Lydia Abdelmalek pretended to be the Home and Away star and used other aliases to attract victims online

Intense wet weather forecast to continue until Thursday as two low pressure systems combine off Victoria’s coast

Greens senator insists information received during time on parliamentary law enforcement committee ‘was treated in confidence’

The UK newspaper front pages lay out the difficult path ahead for the incoming PM, and question the validity of his victoryRishi Sunak’s victory in the Tory leadership contest and his imminent accession to the top of British politics leads the front page of every major newspaper in the UK on Tuesday.The Guardian headlines “Unite or die – Sunak’s warning to Tory MPs”. Under a picture of Sunak receiving a heroes welcome at the Conservative head office in London, the paper’s deputy political editor reports that he told MPs he would “put an end to the Conservative psychodrama” and “prioritise ‘policies not personalities’”. Continue reading...

The R&B superstar, who has lost numerous family members to the disease, appeared with first lady Jill Biden to announce programThe Biden administration’s initiative to spur the prevention and treatment of cancer got a dose of celebrity support on Monday when singer Mary J Blige joined Jill Biden and the American Cancer Society (ACA) to announce national meetings on breast and cervical cancer.The ACA pledged to convene the events after US president Joe Biden and the first lady resurrected the “cancer moonshot” initiative this year. The program provides more money for research to, as Jill Biden said, “Help us end cancer as we know it. For good.” Continue reading...

Unverified footage shows armed police firing at least one canister after staff attempted to inspect students’ phonesIranian security forces fired teargas outside a girls’ school in Tehran when clashes broke out after staff attempted to inspect students’ mobile phones amid ongoing anti-government protests.Iran’s Ministry of Education said several students were treated by emergency services for a drop in blood pressure, but denied that security forces had entered the school. Continue reading...

Reports suggest that the character actor appears to have suffered a medical emergency before crashing his car in HollywoodActor Leslie Jordan has died after a car accident in Los Angeles on Monday at the age of 67.Law enforcement sources told TMZ and then the Los Angeles Times that they suspected the beloved actor suffered a medical emergency before crashing his BMW into the side of a building in Hollywood. Continue reading...

Former chancellor looked finished when he lost to Liz Truss – but out of chaos has come a ‘coronation’

As Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt drop out, the 1922 Committee manages to dodge a democratic vote

Supporters taken aback by decision not to stand after scramble to build campaign

Incoming PM presents smart, impeccably turned out exterior but seems prone to more than the odd gaffe

Union calls on vice-chancellors to negotiate to prevent higher education being brought to ‘complete standstill’The entire UK higher education sector could be brought to “a complete standstill” before Christmas after university staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in two national ballots over pay, working conditions and pensions.More than 70,000 staff at 150 universities could now strike, after turnout among members of the University and College Union (UCU) exceeded the 50% voting threshold in both ballots and more than eight in 10 of those who voted said yes to strike action. Continue reading...

Inquiry launched into whether MP broke Commons rules by ‘causing significant damage’ to its reputationChris Pincher, the MP at the centre of a scandal that led to Boris Johnson’s downfall as prime minister, is facing a new investigation by parliament’s sleaze watchdog.It emerged on Monday that an inquiry had been launched into whether the former deputy chief whip broke House of Commons rules by “causing significant damage” to its reputation. Continue reading...

Presenter of news programme The Papers said she was ‘gleeful’ after Boris Johnson pulled out of leadership race

Fewer shoppers visited high streets, retail parks and shopping centres last week, figures showFootfall at retail outlets in the UK fell by 2.3% last week as economic turmoil continues to squeeze household budgets, figures show.Research by the retail analysts Springboard found high streets, retail parks, and shopping centres had fewer visits than in the week before. Continue reading...

Jim Chalmers’ first budget to reveal $42bn improvement to bottom line across forward estimates but conditions will deteriorate after two years

The lawsuit relates to a song from the pair’s album 18 which shares lines with a poem documented from an inmate in Missouri State PenitentiaryJohnny Depp and Jeff Beck are suing the professor and folklorist Bruce Jackson over his allegations that the duo’s song Sad Motherfuckin’ Parade on their collaborative album 18 plagiarises a poem written by an incarcerated man.In August, Jackson accused Depp and Beck of taking lines from the poem which he documented in his 1974 book Get Your Ass in the Water and Swim Like Me. Various lines appear in both works: “I’m raggedy, I know, but I have no stink / God bless the lady that’ll buy me a drink” and “What that funky motherfucker really needs, child, is a bath.” Continue reading...

Having stood in for Marlon Brando to refuse his Oscar, the actor and activist championed Native American rightsSacheen Littlefeather, the activist who famously stood in for Marlon Brando to refuse the best actor Oscar in 1973, faked Native American ancestry, her family have said.In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Littlefeather’s sisters Rosalind Cruz and Trudy Orlandi said that their sister’s claim to have Apache and Yaqui ancestry through her father was “a lie” and “a fantasy”. Continue reading...

Concerns far-right government could try to justify homophobia or tamper with civil unions lawHolding a rainbow flag, Marco Marras walked on stage at the start of a rally being held by Giorgia Meloni in Sardinia during her election campaign to confront her about gay rights. As security men moved to shoo him away, the student told the Brothers of Italy leader, now Italy’s first female prime minister, he wanted to be able to get married and raise a family in his own country. Meloni replied: “You want a lot of things … everyone wants things; you already have civil unions.”If gay people in Italy, a country that regularly ranks in reports as being among the worst in western Europe for LGBTQ+ rights, had already understood that privileges so far gained were threadbare, Meloni made it explicitly clear they would not get any better under her government. Continue reading...

Former chancellor is leading the race after Boris Johnson’s withdrawal from contention

Australia joins Azerbaijan, Rwanda and Ukraine among nations to fail to provide full access after ratifying agreement

Country’s third PM in a year could be announced on Monday but process could run until Friday

Laws that could disappear include ban on animal testing, workers’ rights and environmental protectionsLeading lawyers have sounded the alarm over Jacob Rees-Mogg’s proposals for post-Brexit legislation that could result in 2,400 laws disappearing overnight – including a ban on animal testing for cosmetics, workers’ rights and environmental protections.Lawyers including one former UK government legal official who designed the concept of EU-retained law for Theresa May branded the move as “anti-democratic” and “completely barking”. Continue reading...

October is the third month this year to see Sydney rain records tumble, with more falls forecast across eastern Australia this week

RWA claims state’s racing industry will suffer after corporate wagers deprioritise Queensland races to mitigate widened tax

Campaign celebrates nursing as varied and fulfilling, but union says only higher pay will make lasting differenceThe NHS is launching an effort to recruit tens of thousands of nurses to help fill the record number of vacancies that low pay, Covid and heavy workloads have created across the service.A multimedia blitz will try to raise nursing’s profile as a worthwhile career by featuring patients who benefited from nurses’ skills and dedication. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Linda Burney’s office suggested basketballer might mention ‘amazing hospitality’ of Indigenous Australians in August press conference

Exclusive: Guardian hears of ordeal in first major interview given by any of the women freed in last week’s prisoner swapIt was like something from the cold war. After five months in the most notorious jail in occupied Ukraine, Alina Panina, 25, had found herself, without explanation, at the foot of a bridge over a river in no man’s land with 107 fellow female Ukrainian prisoners of war.Behind Panina lay Russian-occupied territory and her experiences of the siege of Mariupol’s Azovstal steelworks, the subsequent surrender and then captivity in Olenivka prison in Donetsk. There she was witness to the aftermath of an explosion that killed 53 male prisoners, a blast said by Kyiv to have been engineered by Moscow to silence the victims of torture. Continue reading...

Greens senator’s move heads off hostile referral by Coalition over possible perceived conflict of interest due to former role on law enforcement committee

Antony Blinken joins Ukraine and UK in dismissing Moscow’s claim, saying the world will ‘see through’ any attempt to escalate conflict

The UK newspaper front pages cover the latest in twist in the Tory leadership battleBoris Johnson’s sudden exit from the Tory leadership race fills the UK front pages on Monday.The Guardian goes with, “‘Not the right time’: Johnson out of race to lead the Tories”. The paper writes that the “Former PM struggled for backing” and that his “withdrawal leaves Sunak as frontrunner in battle for No 10”. Continue reading...

The 12-person jury asked if there were ‘time expectations’ on reaching a verdict but was told by the judge to take as long as they needed

Watchdog says phishing email enabled hackers to steal personal information of 113,000 employeesBritain’s data watchdog has fined the construction group Interserve £4.4m after a cyber-attack that enabled hackers to steal the personal and financial information of up to 113,000 employees.The attack occurred when Interserve ran an outsourcing business and was designated a “strategic supplier to the government with clients including the Ministry of Defence”. Bank account details, national insurance numbers, ethnic origin, sexual orientation and religion were among the personal information compromised. Continue reading...

Senior figures holding meetings with leaders of UK’s biggest firms as they strive to be party of government

Woman in her 50s found dead and woman in her 30s injured in NewhamPolice are hunting for a man after a double stabbing in east London left one woman dead and another injured.A woman in her 50s was found killed and a woman in her 30s was injured at a home in Newham, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Police and locals help firefighters attempt to put out fire that was spread by strong winds overnightTanzanian authorities said on Sunday that a fire on Mount Kilimanjaro was mostly under control after flames burned Africa’s tallest mountain for more than 24 hours.The blaze began on Friday evening near the Karanga site used by climbers ascending the famous peak, at about 4,000 metres altitude on its south side. Continue reading...

Ex-chancellor announces candidacy for Tory leadership contest as allies of Boris Johnson say he is planning to run

Rubens Villar Coelho, suspected of ‘leading and financing’ armed group, to await trial under house arrestA man suspected of involvement in the killing of the British journalist Dom Phillips and the Brazilian Indigenous activist Bruno Pereira has been released from jail, according to reports from the Amazon region.Rubens Villar Coelho, known by the alias “Colombia”, was set free on Friday, although news of his release came 24 hours later. Continue reading...