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Listening Project contract will be awarded to one of 12 pre-approved firms, many of which worked for government during pandemicPR giants that received hefty government contracts to run Covid-19 public health campaigns are now bidding to lead an inquiry into the public’s experience of the pandemic response, the Guardian has learned.The Listening Project was announced earlier this year as a formal part of the Covid-19 inquiry, which will “examine the UK’s preparedness and response to the pandemic and learn lessons for the future”. Continue reading...

Signs of groundswell taking shape against state that routinely commits extreme acts of violence against men and womenMahsa Amini’s death in prison is fast becoming another moment of reckoning for the Iranian regime that fears a popular revolt more than it fears staring down the rest of the world.Four days after Amini was found dead in a Tehran prison cell, protests in the Iranian capital show little sign of slowing. Most protests appear peaceful, but some in Kurdish areas of Iran have turned violent. Continue reading...

Figure is fewer than 31m who watched Euro 2020 final, and peaked at 19.5m viewers on BBC OneThe Queen’s funeral service in Westminster Abbey was watched by 29.2 million people on television in the UK, according to official audience data.Despite the enormous interest, the commemoration of Queen Elizabeth II did not meet predictions of becoming the most-watched broadcast in British television history. Less than half the UK population watched the live television broadcast – fewer than the 31 million who watched the climax of England’s Euro 2020 final defeat against Italy. Continue reading...

China has pledged to make its Belt and Road initiative greener, but critics say environmental guidelines ‘nonexistent’In July 2019, China rolled out the red carpet for the Bangladeshi prime minister, Sheikh Hasina. Flown to Beijing by the Chinese government, she was greeted with an honour guard and banquet and received by the president, Xi Jinping, and the prime minister, Li Keqiang. Three days later, she returned to her capital, Dhaka, with nine agreements worth billions of dollars to build power plants and provide other development assistance.Hasina’s short visit benefited both countries. Big new infrastructure projects would help lift living standards in Bangladesh, but also enable China to strengthen its influence on its fast-growing neighbour of more than 160 million people.This article was originally published by Ensia Continue reading...

Tory chair of Treasury committee says assessments on economic impact of planned tax cuts vital to provide reassurance to marketsKwasi Kwarteng has refused to let a government watchdog assess the economic impact of planned tax cuts expected in a mini-budget on Friday.Mel Stride, the Tory chair of the Treasury select committee, urged Kwarteng to allow independent forecasts for the public finances to be published alongside his mini-budget on Friday. Stride released a strongly worded statement urging more clarity around the effects of the new chancellor’s fiscal interventions. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Transparency advocate Rex Patrick says body established by former PM with only permanent member – Morrison – was ‘an abuse of process’

PM’s remarks pave way for radical overhaul that could include rethinking income tax brackets

Inmates describe visits by Yevgeny Prigozhin, reported head of the Wagner group, who is said to offer pardons for those who enlist

King & King cites concerns over whether metals businesses could remain solventThe tiny audit firm responsible for signing off the accounts of several of Sanjeev Gupta’s metals companies has said it quit because it could not obtain enough information about a fraud investigation or whether they had enough cash to survive.King & King said there was a “lack of sufficient information and evidence” on several issues and raised concerns over whether the businesses could remain solvent, according to near-identical letters filed to the UK’s companies register for five separate companies controlled by Gupta. Continue reading...

Five AfD politicians currently in Russia and planning to travel to occupied Donbas in eastern Ukraine

Clip of Canadian prime minister singing in London hotel two days before funeral has sparked criticismA spokesperson for Justin Trudeau has defended the Canadian prime minister over a leaked video that showed him singing Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody in a London hotel lobby two days before Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.The 14-second video clip, viewed more than 1.5m times, shows Trudeau in a T-shirt leaning against a piano at the Corinthia hotel and joining others in a rendition of one of the rock band Queen’s most famous songs. Continue reading...

Leicester East MP says ministers must clamp down on ‘extremist rightwing ideology’Violent clashes between groups of mainly Hindu and Muslim young men will spread beyond Leicester to other towns and cities without central government and police intervention, a local MP has warned.Claudia Webbe, whose Leicester East constituency has been at the centre of several incidents over the past month, said ministers needed to clamp down on “extremist rightwing ideology” and misinformation being spread through social media. Continue reading...

RMT members at 14 train operating companies take action in dispute over pay, jobs and working conditionsWorkers across the rail industry will join train drivers in strikes on 1 October, targeting the start of Conservative party conference.The RMT union has announced fresh action after planned strikes were put on hold during the 10 days of mourning for the Queen. Continue reading...

Proposal to tax visitors – including Welsh residents – branded a ‘misguided and damaging bed tax’Everyone who overnights in Wales, whether it be in a luxury hotel, a cosy holiday cottage or the most basic campsite, may face a “visitor levy” under a hugely controversial Welsh government scheme.The Labour-led government has launched a consultation on the proposal that could result in almost all visitors – including Welsh residents staying away from home – being taxed for their stays. Continue reading...

TUC leads legal action over ministers’ plans to allow agency workers to replace striking staffTrade unions have launched legal proceedings against the UK government, arguing that new laws allowing companies to use agency workers to break strikes are a “broad daylight” attack on the right to take industrial action.Eleven trade unions, led by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), have sought permission for a judicial review of new regulations making the change. Continue reading...

Delegates expected to approve motion calling for party to replace first past the post with a proportional system

Tigray People’s Liberation Front says Eritreans are fighting alongside Ethiopian government forces and allied militiaEritrea has launched a full-scale offensive along the border of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, Tigrayan rebels have said, in what appears to be an escalation of last month’s renewal of fighting.The Eritreans were fighting alongside Ethiopian federal forces, including commando units, as well as allied militia, said Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. Continue reading...

Chris Bryant says Truss attempted to ‘pull wool over our eyes’ about raising rights with Gulf leaders

Member for West Lancashire, a strong Labour seat, is taking new role with NHSThe Labour MP Rosie Cooper is expected to stand down and trigger a byelection in her West Lancashire constituency this autumn, after taking on a new role with the NHS.Cooper, who was targeted as part of a murder plot by members of a banned neo-Nazi group, said she had undergone a “considerable period of soul-searching” and admitted the events had “taken their toll”. Continue reading...

Russell Causley is serving life sentence for murder of his wife, whose body has never been foundA man who murdered his wife 37 years ago will become the first prisoner to have a public Parole Board hearing, under rules designed to boost transparency and confidence in decision-making.Caroline Corby, the chair of the Parole Board of England and Wales, said on Tuesday the next hearing to consider whether Russell Causley, 79, should be released would be open to the public, after a rule change that took effect from 21 July. Continue reading...

PM’s remarks suggest tax cuts set to be unveiled in Friday’s ‘fiscal event’ may not be the last, with full budget expected in NovemberLiz Truss has signalled that further tax cuts could be on the way as she strives to boost economic growth in the face of the biggest economic storm the UK has faced in a generation.In the mini-budget on Friday, the government is planning to cut national insurance and ditch a planned corporation tax rise as it attempts to reduce a record tax burden. Continue reading...

More than £300m wiped off market value as company says Zillah Byng-Thorne is to step downFuture, one of Europe’s biggest and most successful digital media companies, has seen more than £300m wiped off its market value after the company said that chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne is to step down after almost a decade.Byng-Thorne, who has made more than £35m transforming a magazine publisher facing collapse into a £1.7bn digital media empire, has told Future that she intends to step down by the end of the next year. Continue reading...

‘Italy’s AOC’ says the left has to try to regain trust and win over undecided voters before Sunday’s electionA rising star of Italy’s leftwing alliance has said it is working to regain trust as it seeks to tap the 40% of voters who are unsure of who to back in Sunday’s general election, and pledged to “fight until the very last day” to fend off what could be Italy’s first far-right government since the second world war.Elly Schlein, a former MEP, first came to prominence in early 2020 after her small party, Coraggiosa (Courageous), played a pivotal role in stopping the far right from seizing power in the traditionally leftwing Emilia-Romagna region. Continue reading...

Bunge and Cargill, behind more than 30% of soy exports to EU and UK, accused of exposing suppliers to link with indigenous rights violationsTwo of the world’s biggest grain traders are sourcing soy from a Brazilian farm linked to abuses of indigenous rights and land, a report from the environmental group Earthsight claimsEarthsight named the companies as Bunge and Cargill and said they sourced soy produced on a farm located on ancestral land of the Kaiowá indigenous group. Continue reading...

Chief executive calls on government to give more support to people on lower incomes in mini-budgetProfits at the B&Q owner Kingfisher fell by almost a third in the first half of the year as the pandemic DIY boom came to an end, but the company is benefiting from soaring demand for home insulation.Pretax profits at Kingfisher, which owns the B&Q and Screwfix chains in the UK along with Castorama and Brico Dépôt in France, fell to £474m in the six months to 31 July, a near-30% drop from a year earlier. Continue reading...

Network Rail says services affected until noon on Tuesday after thousands of mourners missed funeralThe disruption to train services that caused thousands of mourners to miss the Queen’s funeral will continue until noon on Tuesday, passengers have been advised.Network Rail said work to fix damaged overhead electric wires affecting services at Paddington, west London, was ongoing. Continue reading...

Former disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes will lead independent body aimed at blitzing massive backlog of cases

After dozens of patients revealed complications to Guardian Australia, the use of hyaluronidase to be raised at international conference

Prices soar for direct return flights to see match against Geelong Cats a week after Collingwood diehards made the pilgrimage to Sydney

Aboriginal leader Jill Gallagher described the renaming as ‘yet another piece of our culture erased and replaced by the culture of the invaders’

Exclusive: ADA Russia and French company Believe appear to be conducting business after pledges made after Ukraine invasion

Two dead and thousands without power as storm dumps heavy rain and authorities warn six million to evacuateTwo people have died and more than 100 were injured after Typhoon Nanmadol slammed into Japan on Monday, dumping heavy rain, paralysing traffic and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power.The worst of the rainfall was seen in the southernmost island of Kyushu, where two people died, according to the fire and disaster management agency, before the typhoon was downgraded to a tropical storm as it made its way to the Pacific Ocean. Continue reading...

The general assembly is expected to see fresh tussles over future of Ukraine, as well as the threats of famine and the climate crisis in the global southThe UN general assembly summit this week will be dominated by a struggle – between the US and its allies on one side and Russia on the other – for global support over the fate of Ukraine, as the global south fights to stop the conflict from overshadowing the existential threats of famine and the climate crisis.With a return to fully in-person general debate, presidents and prime ministers will be converging on New York, many of them direct from London, where the diplomacy got underway on the sidelines of the Queen’s funeral. Continue reading...

Inquest into death of 14-year-old who killed herself after viewing graphic content online begins after multiple delaysThe inquest into the death of the teenager Molly Russell, who killed herself after viewing graphic content online, opens on Tuesday, with executives at Instagram’s parent company and Pinterest among the witnesses scheduled to appear.Molly, 14, from Harrow, north-west London, viewed a large amount of online material, including some linked to anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicide, in the months before she died in November 2017. Her father, Ian Russell, has become a prominent campaigner for regulating social media platforms in order to better shield young people from damaging content.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 counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

Bloc must halve its food waste by 2030 to tackle climate crisis and improve food security, say campaignersThe EU wastes more food than it imports and could puncture food price inflation by simply curbing on-farm waste, according to a report.About 153m tonnes of food in the EU are frittered away every year, double previous estimates and 15m tonnes more than is shipped in, according to the study’s estimates. Continue reading...

Annastacia Palaszczuk says immediate action needs to be taken after report reveals potential testing failures at the state’s forensic crime lab

Federal court order prevents West Australian man and his family from being evicted while his complaint is being heard

As the coffin made the short trip to Westminster Abbey before heading on to the palace then Windsor, many were determined to pay their respects

Quake registered at 7.5 magnitude and struck off the coast of La Placita de Morelos on the anniversary of two devastating tremorsA magnitude 7.5 earthquake has struck western Mexico on the anniversary of two earlier devastating tremors, killing at least one person and causing flooding on the Pacific coast.The quake hit at 1.05pm local time, striking near the town of La Placita de Morelos in the state of Michoacán at a depth of 15km. Continue reading...

Richard Dimbleby commentated on the Queen’s coronation 69 years ago and the funeral of George VI in 1952

Reactors not damaged after Russian strikes at nuclear power plant in southern Mykolaiv region. This live blog is now closed.

Survey respondents split 50-50 but women, older voters and Coalition supporters more likely to back new monarch, poll suggests

Sponsorship and community engagement are surging after two years of pandemic cancellations

Russian-backed mayor says Ukrainian shelling killed 13 in Donetsk; Ukraine reports Russian strike on nuclear plant

A rapprochement seemed far away as the two princes and their spouses avoided interactionThere was no eye contact or acknowledgment between Prince William and Prince Harry as they walked behind the Queen’s coffin. Nor indeed, it appeared, as the two princes were joined by their wives, Kate and Meghan, in Westminster Abbey.Harry, wearing a morning suit on to which his medals were pinned rather than military uniform, the traditional dress permitted of working members of the royal family at ceremonial events, kept his gaze focused ahead during the procession from Westminster Hall to the abbey and later at Windsor Castle. Continue reading...

After 10 days of engagements, the 73-year-old king at times appeared close to tears during state ceremonies

Archbishop of Canterbury’s sermon in Westminster Abbey reflected monarch’s role as head of C of E

Small, but symbolic victory in suburb of Lysychansk undermines one of Putin’s key war aims

State education department issues guidance reinstating bathroom and locker room restrictions and curbing pronoun changesVirginia is attempting to roll back major protections for school students who are transgender, according to the latest set of guidelines announced by the state’s education officials.The state’s department of education announced on Friday that it had rewritten a number of policies around the treatment of transgender students, issuing guidance for school districts to follow that ease up accommodations from the previous administration. Continue reading...