World news | The Guardian

Israel’s former PM kept for overnight observation after feeling unwell during synagogue servicesFormer Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been taken to hospital after feeling unwell during the Jewish fasting day of Yom Kippur.Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, said Netanyahu, 72, was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek hospital after feeling chest pains while attending synagogue services. Local media quoted the hospital as saying he underwent a series of tests that came out normal, but was being kept under observation overnight. Continue reading...

Request is widely seen as symbolic, as moving nuclear warheads closer to Russia would make them less militarily usefulPoland says it has asked to have US nuclear weapons based on its territory, amid growing fears that Vladimir Putin could resort to using nuclear arms in Ukraine to stave off a rout of his invading army.The request from the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, is widely seen as symbolic, as moving nuclear warheads closer to Russia would make them more vulnerable and less militarily useful, according to experts. Furthermore, the White House has said it had not received such a request. Continue reading...

Welsh Tories say Bridgend’s £1.1m bill for agency social workers in year of five-year-old’s death shows risk of inconsistent careA local authority involved in the care of Logan Mwangi, the five-year-old boy murdered by his mother, her partner and his stepson, spent more than £1m on agency social workers in the year the child was killed, it has emerged.Bridgend county borough council in south Wales spent £1.1m on agency social workers in 2021/22 compared with £166,000 the year before. So far in this financial year it has spent more than £800,000. Continue reading...

Senior Tories aghast at removal of Isaac Levido in apparent deal with Liz Truss’s chief of staff Mark FullbrookIsaac Levido, the political strategist who ran Boris Johnson’s successful election campaign in 2019, has been dropped from his role at Conservative headquarters, party insiders have confirmed.The Tory aide, who was a protege of the controversial Australian strategist Lynton Crosby, is understood to have lost his contract, prompting incredulity from Tories who are already reeling after a turbulent few days for the party at their Birmingham conference. Continue reading...

Scottish Lib Dems had called on ministers to disclose if King Charles used crown consent to seek changes to lawScottish ministers have rejected calls to confirm whether King Charles III asked for changes to a Scottish rent freeze bill that could affect tenancies on his Highland estate.The Scottish Liberal Democrats wanted to change an emergency bill that is being rushed through Holyrood and will freeze rents for private tenants in Scotland for six months, in response to the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Press freedom policy paper says Australia’s foreign interference laws could be used to target journalists who ‘prejudice national security’

Measures include creation of census and national DNA bank to help locate and identify remainsFive decades after the death of General Franco, and three years after the Spanish dictator’s remains were finally removed from his hulking mausoleum outside Madrid, the country’s senate has approved legislation intended to bring “justice, reparation and dignity” to the victims of the civil war and subsequent dictatorship.On Wednesday afternoon, the upper house of Spain’s parliament passed the socialist-led government’s Democratic Memory law, with 128 votes in favour, 113 against, and 18 abstentions. Continue reading...

Matthew Hardy’s jail term reduced by a year owing to legal oversight in original sentencing at Chester crown courtThe court of appeal has reduced the jail sentence of a serial cyberstalker who harassed women by creating fake social media accounts to spread fake claims about them.Matthew Hardy, 31, was jailed for nine years last January at Chester crown court after pleading guilty to stalking involving fear of violence and harassment after breaching a restraining order. Continue reading...

Original examinations led to inquest finding victims’ injuries were irreversible by 3.15pmThe Home Office has announced a review of failures in the original medical examinations of people killed at Hillsborough, which led to the first inquest finding that their injuries were irreversible by 3.15pm on the day of the disaster.The pathology review, chaired by the forensic science expert Glenn Taylor, has been set up in response to one of 25 recommendations in a 2017 report by Bishop James Jones. Jones was chair of the Hillsborough Independent Panel, which in 2012 published damning criticisms of the original pathology, and his 2017 report, following the new inquests, was aimed at avoiding any repeat of the injustice suffered by the bereaved families. Continue reading...

Exclusive: business department and industry were considering drive to cut household use, despite PM ruling it outMinisters have stepped back from mooted plans to launch a public information campaign to encourage households to reduce their energy use this winter.A campaign asking households to turn their thermostats down and use their dishwashers and washing machines at times when energy demand is lower have been discussed between the business department, energy companies and the network operator National Grid. Continue reading...

Defendant punched as hearings get under way into Santiago de Compostela derailment that killed 80 peopleThe trial of two men charged with causing the deaths of 80 people in Spain’s deadliest train crash in decades has begun, with one of the defendants being punched as tensions boiled over outside the courtroom.Francisco José Garzón, who was driving the high-speed train when it crashed near the north-west Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on 24 July 2013, faces four years in prison if convicted, as does Andrés Cortabitarte, a former safety director at Spain’s state-owned rail infrastructure company, Adif. Continue reading...

Several people had to be removed for allegedly using vitriolic language at party celebrating LGBT diversityConservative party members have been accused of using homophobic insults at a party celebrating LGBT diversity at the party conference in Birmingham.Several people had to be removed for allegedly using vitriolic language at an event at Reflex nightclub, it is claimed. Continue reading...

Ukrainian army making ‘fast and powerful progress’ in south, says Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Moscow says occupied Ukrainian regions ‘will be with Russia forever’ as Ukrainian forces continue rapid advanceThe UK ministry of defence has published its daily intelligence update on the war, reporting that “Ukraine continues to make progress in offensive operations along both the north-eastern and southern fronts. In the north-east, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine has now consolidated a substantial area of territory east of the Oskil River.”The other developments included in the report were:Ukrainian formations have advanced up to 20km beyond the river into Russia’s defensive zone towards the supply node of the town of Svatove.It is highly likely that Ukraine can now strike the key Svatove-Kremina road with most of its artillery systems, further straining Russia’s ability to resupply its units in the east.Politically, Russian leaders will highly likely be concerned that leading Ukrainian units are now approaching the borders of Luhansk Oblast, which Russia claimed to have formally annexed last Friday. Continue reading...

Fendi and her sisters took luxury brand to new creative heights by bringing in Karl Lagerfeld in 1960sFranca Fendi, one of the five sisters who inherited a small Roman leather goods workshop and together transformed it into a luxury fashion house, has died in Rome on Monday. She was 87.Born in 1935, she participated from a young age in the management of the company that from the 1960s onwards, under the guidance of the sisters, became a global luxury powerhouse famed for its reimagining of the classic fur coat. Continue reading...

War’s supporters turn up criticism of Kremlin and military leaders as failures spill on TV screens at home

Talks between Irish foreign minister and UK counterpart announced amid change in ‘mood music’Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, is flying into London for talks with his UK counterpart, James Cleverly, as hopes rise of an outline deal to end the bitter dispute over the Northern Ireland Brexit arrangements within weeks.Talks at official level will start on Thursday afternoon by video link before a working dinner between the two foreign secretaries. Continue reading...

Scottish government says outsource firm Serco will lose contract to run Caledonian Sleeper next yearSerco will lose its contract to run the Caledonian Sleeper next year, the Scottish government has confirmed, with the troubled train service tipped for renationalisation.The decision was welcomed by the governing Scottish National party and Greens as a possible opportunity to take the overnight operation linking Scotland and London into public hands. Continue reading...

Questions raised over why watchdog backed use of risky investment strategies for major pension fundsMPs are heaping pressure on the Pensions Regulator over its support for risky investment strategies that nearly pushed the industry to the brink last week.The work and pensions committee has written to the watchdog amid concerns that it approved of, and may have even encouraged, the use of popular hedging contracts that magnified the market turmoil triggered by the government’s mini-budget, and resulted in a £65bn emergency support package by the Bank of England. Continue reading...

Mette Frederiksen bypasses vote of no confidence over handling of mass cull by calling 1 November ballotDenmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has called a general election for 1 November after a member of her ruling coalition threatened to withdraw its support over her handling of the country’s controversial Covid mass mink cull.The Social Liberal party issued an ultimatum demanding that the centre-left leader Frederiksen, who became Denmark’s youngest prime minister aged 41 in 2019, call elections before parliament’s first debate on 6 October, seven months before they were due. Continue reading...

Marina Ovsyannikova says she refuses to comply with restraint order because she is ‘completely innocent’

‘Anti-growth coalition’? PM certainly brought culture war energy to her short address to party faithful

Two-year-old died in explosion after Darren Greenham cut pipe in Heysham home while intoxicatedA “neighbour from hell” has been jailed for 15 years for causing a gas explosion that killed a toddler when he cut pipes to sell them for £400.Two-year-old George Hinds died in the blast in May 2021 when Darren Greenham, 45, used an angle grinder to cut a pipe in his home in Heysham, Lancashire, in the early hours of the morning while intoxicated. Continue reading...

Regime is again using violence in crackdown, but leaderless movement of young women has left it unsure about how to respond“This is not a protest anymore. This is the start of a revolution,” chanted a group of students outside the science department of Mashhad University, as the unprecedented protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini continued into their 18th day on Monday.That assessment, at least until recently, was not shared by Washington or European capitals. Expressions of support have been issued by the White House, some sanctions imposed and vague promises to loosen the Iranian regime’s blockade of the internet made. But overall the Biden administration has assessed this uprising as doomed to flare and then be crushed under the boots of the Revolutionary Guards. That after all is the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The baton, censorship and the police cell has a long and successful track record of violently quelling dissent. Continue reading...

Vulnerable people reportedly released without checks, sparking fears some could fall prey to traffickersAsylum seekers who arrive in the UK on small boats are being asked to find their own accommodation, the Guardian has been told, prompting fears that some could end up in the hands of traffickers.Record numbers of asylum seekers have arrived in small boats this year with 33,573 as of 3 October. Last year, there were 28,526 small boat arrivals and in 2020 there were 8,404. Continue reading...

Prince Mohammed’s decision to strengthen relations has alarmed allies, but he has long admired Russian leader

Celebrities including Juliette Binoche and Marion Cotillard stage protest after death of Mahsa AminiMore than 50 high-profile French women have filmed themselves cutting their hair in support of Iranian women and girls who have been killed in protests at the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest by Iranian morality police.They include some of the best-known names of French cinema; Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Adjani and Isabelle Huppert, as well as the Belgian singer Angèle. The British-born singer Jane Birkin – who is filmed with her daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg – and actor Charlotte Rampling, both of whom live in France, and Julie Gayet, wife of former French president François Hollande, were also shown cutting their hair “for freedom”. Continue reading...

Supermarket aims to make £500m of savings but will freeze prices on more than 1,000 products until 2023Tesco has said it plans to cut more than 300 head office jobs while raising pay for shop workers for the third time in 13 months, as it issued a warning that profits would be hit by cost inflation.The UK’s biggest retailer is aiming to make £500m of savings this year. The plans include a consultation on 325 job cuts in head office and regional management teams that began in the past fortnight, more automated tills and a reduction in the number of suppliers. It revealed a near-64% dive in half-year profits. Continue reading...

Contactless cards were repeatedly debited by council’s payment machines, in one case up to £600An estimated 1,500 drivers have been left out of pocket – some to the tune of hundreds of pounds – after their contactless cards were repeatedly debited by a council’s parking payment machines.Some motorists in Worcester said they were left overdrawn and unable to pay bills after a software glitch meant they were charged many times over last week. Continue reading...

Demonstrators interrupt conference address in which PM says her plans are disruptive, but beneficial for Britain

Columnists paint a bleak picture for the PM, but some of them think she can still turn things around

Witness K’s lawyer gives first speech since case against him was dropped, argues for reform of the National Security Information Act

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Leader of Britain’s police chiefs calls for better health and social care so police can ‘focus on solving crime’The leader of Britain’s police chiefs has challenged the new home secretary to improve health and social care in England and Wales to enable officers to focus on crime, as he promised police would attend all home burglaries.Martin Hewitt, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), said 64% of emergency calls to the police were not about crime, with a “substantial proportion” resulting in police stepping in to do health and social work because of an absence of other services. Continue reading...

Never have so many angry things been said by so many Tories about each other in a single day as on Monday. We rank the 10 most irate MPs

Optus yet to give specific information about what to do next to those who used Queensland driver’s licences or a passport to sign up

Counsel assisting the inquiry Ruth O’Gorman KC suggests system is ‘stacked against female victims’

Floods, militia raids and hunger mean a third of children are not in school at all, while the rest have too few teachers, aid groups warnNearly every school-age child in Sudan is missing out on education, either completely or facing serious disruption, aid organisations have warned.Schools in some states reopened this week after delays due to severe flooding but millions of children are still unable to go, leaving the country facing a “generational catastrophe”. Continue reading...

Flood watch alerts issued for almost 40 waterways in NSW and severe weather warning in western parts of state

Inscribed first edition of Emma to go on display in UK for first time at Chawton House, HampshireAn inscribed copy of a Jane Austen novel has become the most expensive of the author’s works ever sold after being bought for £375,000 and will go on public display in the UK for the first time.The unique first edition of Emma – which carries the handwritten message “from the author” – achieved the highest sale price for any printed work by the novelist.

Begun in 1929, the building was a collaboration between architects Theo Halliday and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott

Europe’s biggest brick building will have 254 apartments, as well as restaurants, bars, offices and shops

Band says 45-year-old singer ‘under strict doctor’s orders’ to rest and eight Brazil shows on world tour will be postponed to next yearColdplay has announced it is postponing several shows in its latest world tour after singer Chris Martin contracted “a serious lung infection”.In a statement posted on its social media accounts and its website, the band expressed “deep regret” and said the eight postponed shows, all in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil, would be rescheduled for early 2023. Continue reading...

Court finds retailer breached employment laws by directing workers to begin tasks before their rostered shift

Inquiry hears of several cases dealt with by ‘local management resolution’, including incidents of sexist behaviour

In police interview played in court, former Liberal staffer says she awoke in Linda Reynolds’ office to find Lehrmann on top of her, which he denies

Live-fire drill with the US supposed to be a show of strength, but ended in embarrassment and caused alarm among nearby residents

As demand for honey slows after the pandemic, stockpiles far exceed the amount usually sold in a yearNew Zealand is drowning in honey after a boom in beekeeping collided with slowing international demand to create towering stockpiles.Over the past five years, global desire for mānuka honey and demand for home-based honey remedies during the pandemic helped push up prices, creating a kind of honey gold rush on New Zealand farms. Continue reading...

Media groups and activists describe assassination of radio star, known on air as Percy Lapid, as a blow to press freedomA prominent Philippine journalist has been shot dead while driving in the country’s capital, Manila, according to police, prompting condemnation from media groups and activists, who described his assassination as a blow to press freedom.Radio journalist Percival Mabasa, 63, was killed by two assailants at the gate of a residential compound in the Las Pinas area of Manila on Monday night, police said. He was shot twice in the head. Continue reading...

Hearing told ambulance ramping ‘at its worst’ as emergency departments come under ‘incredible pressure’