by Larry Elliott, Pippa Crerar and Richard Partington on (#645PC)
Bank of England left with no action but to intervene after Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budgetThe Bank of England has been forced into emergency action to halt a run on Britain’s pension funds after the impact of Kwasi Kwarteng’s ill-received mini budget prompted fears of a 2008-style financial crisis.Threadneedle Street said the fallout from a dramatic rise in government borrowing costs since the chancellor’s statement had left it with no choice but to intervene to protect the UK’s financial system. Continue reading...
Severe storm that killed two and flattened homes in Atlantic Canada highlights need for longterm strategy against climate changeBrian “Smokey” Osmond was cooking at his home in Newfoundland’s coastal Port aux Basques when he spotted flood waters creeping into his garage on Saturday morning.Osmond moved his truck up a hill to safety. But as he returned, a powerful storm surge struck. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on (#645KT)
Angela Rayner invites activists to imagine meeting under a Labour government, and insiders say gathering was big financial successLabour membership increased by more than 2,500 over the party’s conference, fuelled by the Conservatives’ turmoil and polls suggesting it is on course for victory.The conference in Liverpool was the most financially successful in the party’s history, according to insiders. A new poll by Deltapoll as the conference closed on Wednesday gave Labour a 13-point lead, as Liz Truss faced calls to sack her chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, following the emergency intervention by the Bank of England after his mini-budget. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#645G8)
Passengers urged not to travel unless necessary as service cut to 11% of normal scheduleNo trains at all will run between London and Britain’s biggest cities this Saturday as multiple unions combine strikes, the rail industry has confirmed.Timetables for 1 October have been published, with the overall service cut to just 11% of the normal schedule, when Aslef, RMT and some TSSA and Unite members are walking out for 24 hours in the long-running dispute over pay. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#645G9)
Additional requirements would be time-consuming and threaten capacityPassengers crossing the Channel could see post-Brexit border delays multiplied from next May, with a family car held for 10 minutes if the EU goes ahead with a planned biometric entry system, the Port of Dover has warned.The entry-exit system (EES), which is due to start in May 2023, will require all non-nationals to register their fingerprints and be photographed before entering the EU. Continue reading...
Thaw Nandar Aung, AKA Han Lay, feared being sent home after she was stopped at Thai border last weekA Myanmar fashion model who was denied entry to Thailand and feared arrest by the military government in Yangon if she was forced back home from exile has flown to Canada, which she says has granted her asylum.Thaw Nandar Aung, also known as Han Lay, left on a flight from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport early on Wednesday, according to Archayon Kraithong, a deputy commissioner of Thailand’s Immigration Bureau. He said he was not authorised to reveal her destination. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood Arts and culture correspondent on (#64519)
Plea to wealthy footballers and clubs to help buy auctioned painting to stop it disappearing into private collectionThe mayor of Salford has urged wealthy football players and clubs to consider buying LS Lowry’s painting Going to the Match when it is auctioned next month to prevent the “huge tragedy and scandal” of it disappearing from public view.The 1953 work by one of Britain’s best known and best-loved painters is expected to smash records when it is sold by the Professional Footballers’ Association next month. Christie’s, the auction house handling the sale, estimates it will fetch up to £8m. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#6451A)
New station opens five months after rest of line and two weeks before first through-servicesThe Elizabeth line’s delayed Bond Street station will open on 24 October, Transport for London has announced.The station, allowing direct access to the West End and shopping district on high-capacity trains from outside the capital, will open five months after the rest of the cross-London line started operating in May. Continue reading...
Internal cultural review published by News Corp Australia states ‘allegations of abuse, racial vilification and bullying’ could amount to human rights violations
Zbigniew Rau rules out a nuclear reprisal but says the alliance is sending a clear message to RussiaPoland’s foreign minister, Zbigniew Rau, has said Nato’s response to any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine should be non-nuclear but “devastating”.Speaking on a visit to Washington, Rau said the alliance was in the process of delivering that message to Moscow. Continue reading...
Ministry of Justice investigating alleged security breach that allowed David Norris to send selfies to friendsAn investigation has been launched after one of the men convicted of murdering Stephen Lawrence reportedly obtained a mobile phone in prison and sent selfies to friends.The Ministry of Justice said it is investigating the alleged security breach involving David Norris, who has now been placed in segregation, and warned that prisoners found with mobile phones can expect longer jail terms. Continue reading...
Kremlin officials have talked up implications of the gas pipe explosions but there is no reason to expect a western military responseIt may never be possible to determine definitively whether Monday’s underwater explosions at the two Nord Stream gas pipelines were the work of Russian sabotage, but it is certainly the way to bet.The incidents took place close to – but just outside – the 12-mile territorial waters of Denmark’s Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, the kind of calibration that might be expected from a state actor mindful of the country’s Nato membership. Continue reading...
Price five times more than estimate as A4 sheet bought by Tasmanian museum official acting for private collectorDavid Bowie’s handwritten lyrics to his 1972 song Starman have sold for more than £200,000 at auction, five times their estimated sale price.The song featured on his fifth album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, which propelled the musician to international rock and pop stardom. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#6448D)
Sir Mark Rowley says he is not interested in ‘labels’, while vowing to root out racism in the forceThe new commissioner of the Metropolitan police declined to say whether his force was institutionally racist or not, saying he was not interested in “labels”, while vowing to root out racism in the force.Sir Mark Rowley’s comments, as he carried out a round of media interviews were criticised by black officers and the surviving brother of Stephen Lawrence, whose murder by a racist gang was botched by the Met and which led to the Macpherson inquiry in 1999 finding the Met was institutionally racist. Continue reading...
Firm switching to set-top boxes amid changes in technology and consumer behaviourThe end of the satellite television dish is in sight after Sky said it would start offering most of its services via a set-top streaming box.Although Sky has denied claims it will stop installing new satellite dishes next year, one source at the company suggested it is ultimately a matter of “when, not if” the company ultimately decides to move to internet streaming as standard. Continue reading...
Expert tells London inquest material 14-year-old viewed online would ‘certainly’ have affected herA child psychiatrist has told the inquest into Molly Russell’s death he was unable to sleep well for “a few weeks” after seeing social media content viewed by the teenager before she killed herself.Dr Navin Venugopal told North London coroner’s court the self-harm content viewed by Molly before her death was “very disturbing” and “distressing”.In the UK, the youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org, and in the UK and Ireland Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 or chat for support. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...
Party whip suspended after Labour MP accused of making ‘racist’ comment about chancellorA Labour MP has had the party whip suspended after she was accused of making a “racist” comment by claiming that the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, was “superficially” black.Rupa Huq, a former shadow Home Office minister, was recorded at an event held on Monday during a fringe event as part of Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool hosted by British Future and the Black Equity Organisation and also attended by the party’s chair, Anneliese Dodds. Continue reading...
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture corespondent on (#643VD)
BBC says decision will be made within weeks after UK replaced Ukraine to host event due to Russia’s invasionLiverpool and Glasgow are the two cities which remain in the competition to host the Eurovision song contest in 2023, when it will be held in the UK for the first time in 25 years.The two cities were selected after Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and Manchester were removed from contention to host the music event. The BBC said a final decision would be made “within weeks”. Continue reading...
Thousands evacuated in Cuba while Floridians warned Ian may strengthen to category 4Hurricane Ian has torn into western Cuba with nothing to stop it from intensifying into a catastrophic category 4 hurricane before it is expected to hit Florida on Wednesday.Tampa and St Petersburg in Florida could get their first direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921. Continue reading...
Mark Rowley sets out ambition to restore trust in London force, lower murder rate and tackle burglaryThe new Metropolitan police commissioner Mark Rowley tried to define his leadership of the failing force by saying it had been too “forgiving” of wrongdoing in the ranks and vowing to reconnect with communities to boost dwindling trust.Rowley, in his third week in the job, said he would be “ruthless” in tackling racism and misogyny among officers, and that he hoped to bring London’s murder rate down below 100 a year and boost its crime fighting. Continue reading...
Bank of Ireland, Clydesdale, Post Office Money and building societies among those to withdraw productsNearly 300 mortgage deals have been pulled in the last 24 hours by banks and building societies after a fall in the pound fuelled forecasts of a jump in interest rates to nearly 6%.The Bank of Ireland, Clydesdale Bank, Post Office Money and building societies including Monmouthshire, Furness and Darlington are among the names to have withdrawn products. Continue reading...
RSPB, National Trust and others call on supporters to write to MPs as they argue ‘nature is not a negotiable luxury’Environmental charities are mobilising their millions of members to take on the UK government over what they say is an attack on nature in the push for growth.Groups including the RSPB, the National Trust, the Wildlife Trusts, and Wildlife and Countryside link – a coalition of 65 organisations with a combined membership of more than 7 million – are encouraging supporters to put pressure on Conservative MPs over proposals that they say strike at the heart of environmental and wildlife protections.The removal from the statute books of 570 laws derived from EU directives that make up the bedrock of environmental regulations in the UK, covering sewage pollution, water quality and clean air. These include the habitat regulations, which have protected areas for wildlife for more than 30 years.The ending of the moratorium on fracking.The creation of low-tax investment zones from Cornwall to Cumbria where environmental protections would be relaxed to encourage development.The feared scrapping of the post-Brexit environmental land management scheme (Elms), which pays farmers to enhance nature. Continue reading...
Hundreds of conscripted civilians to operate checkpoints, source says, showing challenge faced by tiny stateQatar has called up hundreds of civilians, including diplomats summoned back from overseas, for mandatory military service operating security checkpoints at World Cup stadiums, according to a source and documents seen by Reuters.The deployment of conscripts, some of whom would normally defer national service because their work is considered vital, highlights the logistical challenge faced by the tiny Gulf Arab state hosting one of the world’s biggest sports tournaments. Continue reading...
The Masons Arms in Camelford is turning out the lights on Mondays after a sharp rise in its electricity billThe flickering light glints off the pint pots and the wine glasses as smiling faces appear out of the half-light. The chatter is jolly but a little quieter than might be expected of a busy pub, a pleasant hum rather than something more raucous.Not a scene from a Thomas Hardy story or, given that this is north Cornwall, a Poldark romance, but autumn 2022 in the Masons Arms, Camelford, where soaring electricity bills have prompted the landlady and the landlord, Katy Chawner-Woods and Alan Woods, to turn the lights off and illuminate the place with hundreds of candles. Continue reading...
Daisy unhurt as animal services team responds to Orange county witness’s phone callA young dog miraculously survived uninjured after being thrown off a 15ft bridge from a moving car while in a plastic bin.Police from Orange county, Florida, say they received a call from an eyewitness who was walking their dog and saw someone toss the plastic container over the bridge. Continue reading...
Building society chief responds as stock market falls and pound slides after Kwarteng’s mini-budgetMortgage rates in the UK will rise further in coming days, and the next 10 days in financial markets will be crucial in determining how high they will go, according to the head of Principality building society.Experts are predicting that a typical two-year fix, which has cost borrowers £850 a month, could go up to almost £1,500 a month, after Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget on Friday shocked markets and sent the pound plunging, as well as triggering a government bond sell-off. Sterling hit a record low of about $1.035 on Monday morning and has recovered slightly to $1.08, but is still down 7% this month. Continue reading...
by Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies on (#643G7)
Public anger at cost of ceremony for former PM and revelations over his party’s ties to religious groupA state funeral for Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has been held in Tokyo amid public anger over the cost of the ceremony and revelations over his party’s ties to a controversial religious group.More than 4,000 guests, including the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, and the British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, stood in silence as a member of Japan’s self-defence forces [SDF] entered the Nippon Budokan hall, where a 19-gun salute sounded in honour of the assassinated former leader. Continue reading...
by Martin Chulov Middle East correspondent on (#643F0)
At first, the killing of Mahsa Amini by the morality police triggered protests only among a minority – but anger with the regime soon spreadWhen a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, died in regime custody 10 days ago, Kurdish corners of Iran were the first to erupt; their anger at leaders they say have long oppressed them had an incendiary effect in their towns and cities.The death of the 22-year-old, who refused to wear a hijab on a visit to Tehran, quickly became a potent symbol of defiance for a minority group that had long harboured nationalistic ambitions, which rarely stayed hidden, and often eschewed the values of the country’s hardline leaders. Continue reading...
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