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West Midlands police blame shortchanging by Home Office as party officials report abuse and assaults on delegatesSenior Conservative officials have accused West Midlands police of failing to do enough to keep protesters away from delegates at the party conference, a leaked letter reveals.The disclosure comes just hours after the police were forced to lock down the conference in central Birmingham for several hours after a security scare. Police say they have been shortchanged by over £500,000 on the costs of keeping the conference in Birmingham secure. Continue reading...

Nearby ports are closed and emergency shelters open as 10in of rain and dangerous surf are expectedHurricane Orlene has made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast near the tourist town of Mazatlán, with winds of more than 80mph (130km/h).Electrical cables swayed and sent off showers of sparks in the town of El Rosario, about 40 miles (65km) south of Mazatlán, close to where the hurricane hit. Continue reading...

Dean Gittoes denies using excessive force to detain 16-year-old filming outside Merthyr Tydfil police stationA police inspector accused of assaulting a “vulnerable” boy who was filming outside a police station told colleagues he was tired of “internet freaks”, a court has heard.Insp Dean Gittoes, 49, of South Wales police, is accused of beating the 16-year-old outside Merthyr Tydfil police station. Continue reading...

Investors rush to buy credit default swaps as worries grow over solidity of bank’s balance sheetThe cost of buying insurance against Credit Suisse defaulting on its debt soared to a record high on Monday, amid fears on markets about the solidity of the balance sheet at the globally significant Swiss bank.There was a sell-off in the bank’s shares and bonds while investors rushed instead to buy credit default swaps (CDS) – insurance against the bank failing to meet its debts. Continue reading...

Jetson Maffia-Kerbey fell into family friend’s hot tub in Folkestone, Kent in June 2022The death of a one-year-old boy who drowned in a hot tub in a family friend’s garden was a tragic accident, an inquest has concluded.Jetson Maffia-Kerbey was 21 months old when he died on 13 June 2022. The inquest at Maidstone county hall heard that on the day of Jetson’s death, his father, Nigel Kerbey, took him to spend the day with family friend Graham Morgan and his three-year-old daughter at their home in Folkestone, Kent. Continue reading...

Unnamed man from south-east England collapsed in late stages of race and died in hospitalA 36-year-old man who collapsed while running the London Marathon on Sunday has died, organisers have announced.The man, who has not been named and was from south-east England, collapsed between mile 23 and mile 24 of the race. Continue reading...

Treasury minister in charge of welfare changes made comments in 2013

One former minister calls him the ‘worst performing cabinet minister so far’ in Liz Truss’s government

Media commentators weigh in on chancellor’s speech following his decision to scrap his tax cut for high earners

North Africa analysts believe new leader Ibrahim Traoré may seek help from Moscow in fight against Islamic extremistsRussian mercenaries may be poised for further expansion in Africa’s strategically important Sahel region after the latest coup d’etat in the region, western officials and analysts fear.Ibrahim Traoré, a 34-year-old army captain, took power in Burkina Faso on Friday, overthrowing Lt Col Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who he accused of failing to effectively counter rising violence by Islamic extremists in the unstable and poverty-stricken country. Continue reading...

One expert says many surveys overrepresented poor voters, and far-right supporters may just not respondNot for the first time, the pollsters got it wrong. Far from being a sweeping win for the left, the first round of Brazil’s presidential elections was much closer than expected, with the country’s far-right president significantly outperforming predictions.With almost all votes counted on Monday, Jair Bolsonaro’s veteran leftist rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, had secured 48.3%, while the populist incumbent was just five percentage points behind on 43.3%, a much narrower margin than most pre-election estimates. Continue reading...

Exclusive: A senior officer told Karen Iles they believed her statement, including names, photos, maps and diary excerpts, had been destroyed

Chief justice Lucy McCallum to preside over two-month trial in ACT supreme court which had been delayed due to pretrial publicity

Swinburne University research also shows boost in public perceptions of leadership and competence since Labor took power

Officers investigated after teargas fired and at least 125 people, including 32 children, killed in crushAn Indonesian police chief and nine elite officers were removed from their posts and 18 others were being investigated for responsibility in the firing of teargas inside a soccer stadium that led to a crush, killing at least 125 people, officials said.Indonesian police are facing increasing pressure over their management of crowds during the Kanjuruhan stadium disaster. Continue reading...

Budget almost doubles amid reports that prime minister wants to promote her £150bn energy-bill freezeMinisters have budgeted more than £930m on buying advertising space in an effort to sell government policies in the lead-up to the next election, new analysis has revealed.The amount is almost double the normal advertising budget for government over the previous four years, although a significant amount more was spent on Covid-related advertising, according to data compiled by Labour. Continue reading...

Successes in congress as progressive standard bearer Lula is favourite to defeat Bolsonaro in second round of presidential voteBrazil’s election result was a disappointment for those hoping to see a first-round win for the presidential challenger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva but there were still some reasons to be cheerful for the country’s left.Not only is Lula favourite to win the 30 October run-off – he need only increase his vote share from 48.4% to 50+1 – but diversity got a boost in a few key parliamentary races. Continue reading...

Families sent letter admitting to failures amid claims of squalid and even dangerous accommodationThe Ministry of Defence has been forced to apologise after army families were left enduring the “unacceptable” standards of housing contractors given management deals worth £650m six months ago.The contracts had been lauded by the defence minister Leo Docherty in April but a letter was sent to families last week admitting to multiple failures amid claims of squalid and even dangerous accommodation. Continue reading...

Frank Luntz tells Tory conference meeting weaponising such issues is likely to ‘win an election but lose the country’

Former Tory ‘big beast’ says PM needs to ‘appoint ministers who know what the heck they’re doing’

Thomas Cashman, 34, charged with murder of Olivia, nine, and attempted murder of her motherA man has appeared in court charged with the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel.Thomas Cashman, 34, of West Derby, was remanded in custody after appearing at Liverpool crown court charged with Olivia’s murder. He will appear in court for a plea hearing on 10 January, with a trial set for 6 March. Continue reading...

Reality TV star failed to disclose that she was paid to promote a crypto asset in an Instagram postKim Kardashian has paid US regulators more than $1m to settle charges for failing to disclose that she was paid to promote a crypto asset in a post on her Instagram page.The reality TV star, social media influencer and entrepreneur, who is estimated to be worth $1.8bn (£1.6bn), has agreed to pay the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) $1.26m to settle the charges. Continue reading...

Photographs show band performing at Liverpool venue more than a year before release of first official singleRare photographs of the Beatles have been discovered playing at the Cavern Club in Liverpool before they had officially released any music.The images were captured in July 1961, more than a year before the band released their debut single Love Me Do. They show John Lennon and Paul McCartney at the microphone, with George Harrison on guitar and a partially obscured Pete Best, the group’s original drummer. Continue reading...

Combined networks would be Britain’s biggest mobile operator, challenging Vodafone, EE and O2Vodafone and the owner of Three UK are in talks about a potential mega-merger that would create Britain’s biggest mobile operator.Vodafone and CK Hutchison, the parent company of Three UK, have long been considered potential merger candidates after a wave of consolidation in the UK and European telecoms sectors in recent years. Continue reading...

Liu Jingyao launched civil proceedings in 2019 against retail billionaire Liu QiangdongOne of China’s biggest and most divisive #MeToo cases, which had been set to play out with extraordinary transparency because of its US location and was closely watched by millions inside China, has been settled out of court.Liu Qiangdong, a 49-year-old online retail billionaire who also goes by Richard Liu and is known as China’s Jeff Bezos, had been accused of sexually assaulting a then 21-year-old Chinese graduate when she was studying at the University of Minnesota and he was visiting on a business trip. Liu has always denied the assault accusations, saying it was consensual.In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...

George Eustice warns against scrapping post-Brexit subsidies aimed at improving biodiversity and meeting climate targetsA former environment secretary has urged the UK government not to drop its nature recovery farming schemes, as the Guardian can reveal the more ambitious parts of the post-EU subsidy programme are set to be dropped.George Eustice made the intervention, telling the Guardian that farmers are keen to be signed up to schemes in which they improve biodiversity, and that his replacement, Ranil Jayawardena, should not scrap them. Continue reading...

High court accepted former prime minister’s apology with ruling that ease threat of disqualification from politicsA Pakistani court has accepted an apology tendered by the former prime minister Imran Khan and dropped a contempt of court case against him, his defence lawyer said, a ruling that eases the threat of his disqualification from politics.The Islamabad high court had deferred Khan’s indictment over the contempt case after he apologised to the court in person late last month. Continue reading...

U-turn comes after months of protests over scheme that would have meant loss of mature treesThe Paris mayor’s office has abandoned plans for new buildings around the foot of the Eiffel Tower after months of protests from environmentalists and a petition signed by nearly 150,000 people.Under the scheme, about 20 mature trees would have been cut down and four new buildings housing a cafe, shops, toilets and baggage drop-off constructed. Continue reading...

Nestlé says change after 86 years will keep 2bn wrappers a year out of landfillQuality Street’s multicoloured confectionery will now all be a bit more green – or that is the hope – as the foil and plastic wrappers are swapped for recyclable paper.The change marks the first switch away from rustling, shiny plastic wrappers for the brand in 86 years since Harold Mackintosh launched the brand in 1936 – with the intention of keeping 2bn wrappers a year out of landfill. Continue reading...

Brazilians will go to the polls again after former president won the first vote but failed to secure a majority over the incumbentBrazil’s acrimonious presidential race will go to a second round after the former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva failed to secure the overall majority he needed to avoid a runoff with the far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro.With more than 99.5% of votes counted the leftist veteran had secured 48.3% of the vote, not enough to avoid the 30 October show down with his rightwing rival. Bolsonaro, who significantly out-performed pollsters’ predictions and will be buoyed by the result, received 43.3%. Continue reading...

Reported deaths more than double in a year, with women attacked by male relatives for appearing to talk to men on smartphonesCampaigners are calling for urgent action to tackle what they say is a rise in “honour killings” in Sudan.Eleven women and girls have reportedly been killed by relatives so far this year, more than double the number reported in 2021. Two women have died in the past month. Continue reading...

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One man whose daughter and grandchildren are in the Roj camp says the government has not notified family members of rescue missions

Psychologist’s report on behalf of prosecution cites boy’s respect for ‘gang members’ and ‘adherence to an alternative moral code”

Exclusive: almost one in four people unable to be discharged were waiting for home care, data revealsA “perilous” shortage of homecare workers is the biggest reason thousands of people are languishing longer in hospital than needed, driving up waiting lists and making people sicker, figures reveal.Almost one in four people unable to be discharged – sometimes for weeks – were trapped in hospital because they were waiting for home care, as agencies hand back contracts because staff are quitting owing to low pay, leaving 15% of jobs vacant. Continue reading...

Adrian Schrinner promotes economic benefits in latest bid to change clocks, saying state is ‘letting good daylight hours go to waste’

Pledge to station officers at five hospitals, despite inquiry finding it would be ‘contrary to the good management of security’

Transparency International says 33 properties worth £700m may be linked to sanctioned Russians

Researchers also found more than 60% of 16-25-year-olds are scared about their generation’s future

Exclusive: work that has divided opinion will be sold by Sotheby’s with estimate of $30m-$40mIt was labelled “a monstrosity” and a work of art so bad that it deserved to be interred, not displayed. But many more recognised it as a work of genius, Henry Moore considered it one of his finest, and later this year it is expected to break auction records as the most expensive sculpture made by a British artist.Moore’s bronze of a reclining semi-abstract figure stopped people in their tracks when it was first exhibited as a centrepiece of the Festival of Britain in 1951. It was startling and unsettling. Many adored it. Some hated it. A good number were amused by it. Continue reading...

Greenwich charity in south-east London admits it will struggle to meet demand without surge in donationsA food bank serving the London neighbours of Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng has said it will struggle to survive this winter without “a torrent of support” for families who were going hungry.Greenwich food bank said it had distributed 92,000 emergency meals to residents this year – already more than last year’s total – and that it was forecast to hit 130,000 by Christmas Day. Continue reading...

Forensic assessment will investigate how it happened and strategies for preventing future breaches, telco chief says

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Unverified social media videos show security forces firing teargas amid reports some students are trapped in campus car parkIranian security forces have clashed with students at a prominent university in Tehran, social and state media reported, in the latest sign of a deadly clampdown on nationwide protests that were ignited by the death in custody of a young woman.The anti-government protests, which began at 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s funeral on 17 September in the Kurdish town of Saqez, have spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran’s authorities in years, with many calling for the end of more than four decades of Islamic clerical rule. Continue reading...

National association is investigating United supporters who displayed Nazi symbols and salutes at Australia Cup final

Miner wants Energy Resources Australia chair to resign after minority shareholders threw doubt over Ranger mine rehabilitation

Incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and former president Lula will go to a runoff election at the end of the month after a tighter than expected first round resultLatest analysis and reactionBrazil’s president is elected directly by the 156 million voters; there is no electoral college and no role for the legislature. A candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to be elected. If this does not happen in the first round, the top two candidates will go into a runoff election at the end of the month. Continue reading...

Drinks reception with wealthy Tory donors took place on same day the chancellor delivered mini-budgetPressure is growing on the Tory party to provide a full list of attendees at a private champagne reception attended by the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, hours after he delivered his mini-budget.Anneliese Dodds, the Labour chair, has written to her Conservative counterpart, Jake Berry, calling on him to release a list of those in attendance and whether they pledged donations or paid a fee to be there. Continue reading...

Unions to join forces on Saturday to coincide with start of Conservative party conference in BirminghamThe biggest rail strike in Britain for decades will bring most trains to a halt throughout Saturday, with unions combining industrial action for the first time this year.No trains will run in many areas, with no direct services at all on some intercity routes between London to Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh. Continue reading...

Dozens of rallies planned from Plymouth to Aberdeen as £150bn energy price guarantee comes into effectUK householders are poised to set fire to their utility bills on Saturday, in a wave of cost of living protests timed to coincide with the jump in gas and electricity unit prices that will cause bills to soar.In what organisers forecast will be the largest nationwide protests against an economic crunch, which got worse this week with money market chaos and mortgage rate rises looming, dozens of rallies will be staged from Plymouth to Aberdeen, while postal and railway workers also strike. Continue reading...