World news | The Guardian

British-born Sikh woman in her 20s tells police a racist remark was made during assault in OldburyA man has been arrested after a Sikh woman said she had been left deeply affected" by what police are treating as a racially motivated rape in the West Midlands.The woman, described as a British-born Sikh in her 20s, told police a racist remark was made to her during the assault in the Tame Road area of Oldbury on Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

Peter Kyle says singular talents' were balanced against warnings as Epstein accuser's family criticise appointmentPeter Mandelson has singular talents" that meant his appointment as US ambassador was seen as worth the risks" despite warnings in the vetting process over his links with Jeffrey Epstein, the business secretary has said.It came as the family of the Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre said Lord Mandelson should never have been made ambassador. Continue reading...

Stars read Michael Rosen's 2014 poem Don't Mention the Children in film released by Save the ChildrenGuy Pearce, Annie Lennox and Vanessa Redgrave are among the celebrities calling for an end to the normalised horror" of children being killed in Gaza, as part of new short film.Released by Save the Children and Choose Love, it features the stars reciting the words to a poem by Michael Rosen. Titled Don't Mention the Children, the poem was written in 2014 in response to a Guardian article about the Israeli government banning a radio advert naming children killed in Gaza. It begins: Continue reading...

More than 110,000 people join Tommy Robinson-organised protest featuring racist conspiracy theories and hate speechMore than 110,000 people have taken part in a far-right street protest organised by the activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as Tommy Robinson, in what is thought to be the largest nationalist event in decades.Marchers travelled to London by train and coach for a demonstration, which was billed as a festival of free speech", but by its conclusion had amplified racist conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim hate speech across Whitehall. Continue reading...

Party takes 16.5% of the vote in North Rhine-Westphalia, behind governing CDU and Social DemocratsGermany's far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party has more than tripled its support in local elections in the country's most populous state, a poll seen as Friedrich Merz's first significant electoral test since he took office as chancellor four months ago.According to exit poll results from North Rhine-Westphalia, Merz's Christian Democrats won with 34% - about the equivalent of its historically worst result in the same poll in 2020 - while the AfD secured 16.5%. Continue reading...

Court case that could oust opposition leader follows detentions of more than 500 people including 17 mayors over past yearTens of thousands of people have protested in the Turkish capital, Ankara, against a court case that could oust the head of the main opposition on Monday after a year-long legal crackdown on hundreds of its members.Live footage showed crowds chanting for President Recep Tayyip Erdoan's resignation while waving Turkish flags and party banners. Continue reading...

Exclusive: PM condemns attacks against police, racist intimidation of minorities and use of flag to instil fear

Reform leader says failure to register trip to speak at Republican party dinner in Florida was due to an error by his officeNigel Farage has admitted breaching parliamentary rules by failing to register a trip to Florida to headline a fundraising event for Donald Trump.The Reform UK leader was the main speaker at the $500-a-head Republican party dinner in Tallahassee in March. Continue reading...

The duke talks about the cost of war, his portrayal in the press and boxing as the Guardian joins him on a visit to KyivIt's about midnight. It's raining. A small group is huddled around a lonely roadside cafe somewhere near the border between Poland and Ukraine, getting wet in the drizzle, sharing cartons of chips and bottles of beer.One of the bedraggled men wonders out loud why on earth the owner of the cafe would choose to close now, when surely this must have been the busiest it has ever been, stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, with a captive and hungry audience. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Research finds more than 1,000 schools have suffered cumulative real-terms cuts in excess of 1m eachSchool leaders in England are having to double up as caretakers and lollipop men and women as funding hits rock bottom", teaching unions have said.Others are having to call on relatives to help fix crumbling buildings and do other odd jobs after years of inadequate" funding for schools, they said. Continue reading...

Education secretary says now is not time to look backwards' as Powell vows to be independent voice'Bridget Phillipson and Lucy Powell fired the starting pistol in Labour's deputy leadership race on Sunday, with the education secretary saying now was not the time to look backward" on mistakes made by the party in its first year of government.The pair set out strikingly different approaches to the role of deputy leader, with Powell saying she would be an independent voice who would speak truth to senior leadership including Keir Starmer. Continue reading...

Met police say further arrests expected after 24 were detained during Unite the Kingdom' march in LondonPolice are searching for a man who called for Keir Starmer to be killed during Saturday's Unite the Kingdom" rally in London, with further arrests expected in the coming days after outbreaks of violence.Scotland Yard estimated that between 110,000 and 150,000 people attended the far-right event, organised by the activist known as Tommy Robinson. Continue reading...

Chloe Zhao's Shakespeare drama has picked up the people's choice award which has come to be a predictor of Oscar successChloe Zhao's adaptation of Hamnet has won this year's people's choice award at the Toronto film festival.The acclaimed drama, based on Maggie O'Farrell's award-winning novel, stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal and tells a fictionalised account of William Shakespeare and wife Agnes as they grieve for their young son. Continue reading...

Westpac economist says tighter labour market is behind changes in how the economic pie' is divided

Case in which parents were not told centre was in the very high risk' cohort illustrates a glaring safety gap, critics argue

Gurpreet Singh Johal wants to know if stops are linked to his efforts to find out whether UK intelligence played a role in sibling's arrestThe brother of Jagtar Singh Johal, a British Sikh jailed in India, has written to the Home Office to ask why he is being repeatedly stopped at the airport by British border police.Gurpreet Singh Johal, a Labour councillor in Dumbarton, asked if it was linked to his legal efforts to discover whether British intelligence played a role in his brother's arrest eight years ago. Continue reading...

Health secretary calls on doctors to embrace Labour's plan to prevent Nigel Farage getting in to power and dismantling the health serviceUnless doctors stop striking and help Labour fix the damage inflicted by the Tories, the NHS will end up dying under a government led by Reform, Wes Streeting has warned.Speaking at a special meeting of the British Medical Association's representative body on Sunday, the health secretary said hospitals and GP surgeries were hanging by a thread" after more than a decade of neglect by the Conservatives. Continue reading...

Country's defence ministry condemns irresponsible actions' after drone entered its airspace on Saturday

Supermarket says deal would speed up transformation of the retail business it bought for more than 1bn in 2016Sainsbury's ill-starred ownership of the Argos retail business looks set to end as the supermarket is in negotiations for a sale to the Chinese retailer JD.com.No agreement has yet been reached but Sainsbury's confirmed it was in discussions to hive off Argos, the general merchandise arm it bought for more than 1bn less than a decade ago. Continue reading...

Peter Kyle said he was not disturbed' by huge Tommy Robinson-organised far-right protest but condemns violence against the policeThis report was written by my colleagues Peter Walker, Eleni Courea and Pippa Crerar:Keir Starmer has been warned that time is running out to repair his faltering leadership, with Labour MPs beginning to ask whether he could be challenged as prime minister. Continue reading...

Hatton, known throughout his career as the Hitman, was one of the best-known British fighters of his generationThe British former world boxing champion Ricky Hatton has been found dead at his home at the age of 46.Hatton, known throughout his career as the Hitman, was one of the best-known British fighters of his generation and won several world titles. He retired in 2012 and went on to speak openly about his struggles with depression and alcohol. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ministers have vowed to fix benefit after Guardian revealed thousands had been plunged into debt for accidentally breaking rulesThe government is considering compensation payouts for unpaid carers who have been unfairly hit with huge financial repayments in recent years after inadvertently falling foul of harsh carer's allowance benefit rules.Ministers vowed to fix problems with the benefit after a Guardian investigation revealed how draconian penalties coupled with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) administrative failures had plunged hundreds of thousands of carers into debt. Continue reading...

Takeover of broadcast companies by Donald Trump's allies is harbinger of media capitulation to authoritarian leaningsThe US right has appeared to increase its influence on mainstream media in America in recent weeks, especially in television news which has been a major target of the Donald Trump administration.CBS News - once home to legends of US journalism like Walter Cronkite and Edward R Murrow - installed a Trump ally as its ombudsman, weeks after the family of Larry Ellison, one of the world's richest men, and a friend of the US president, sealed control over Paramount, the owner of CBS. Continue reading...

Speaking to those who are uneasy with the proliferation of flags and those who support it is a journey of discoveryIf it started anywhere it was among the suburban streets off a large roundabout in Weoley Castle, known by local people in this part of south-west Birmingham's urban sprawl as the square".From Falkirk to Folkestone, Harwich to Holyhead, fluttering off the Angel of the North and marked out on a Wiltshire white horse, the national colours of England and the United Kingdom, and Scotland and Wales to a lesser extent, have been on show across the country in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Doctors at Nasser medical complex say it will not be able to cope with large numbers of people fleeing Gaza CityDoctors and medical staff at the largest big hospital still functioning in Gaza say they will be overwhelmed by a wave of new wounded and sick patients if hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flee the north of the devastated territory in the face of an intensifying Israeli offensive.Dr Mohammed Saqr, the director of nursing at the Nasser medical complex near Khan Younis, in the south of Gaza, said there were not enough staff to cope with even existing demand and that supplies of medicine and fuel were running low. Continue reading...

Prescribing of non-addictive drug in England clustered in London and West Midlands, with cheaper alternative issued far more oftenTens of thousands of prescriptions have been issued in England for a promising and non-addictive new sleeping pill, but doctors say NHS uptake is being held back by cost and patchy awareness.Daridorexant, approved last year, has been prescribed 67,000 times since November 2023, at an estimated cost of 2.6m to the NHS. The drug has been hailed for helping people fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer and wake up clear-headed - without the dependency risks of traditional pills. Continue reading...

Those sounding a noisy trumpet' or inciting a dog to bark' along part of the Merseyside coast will no longer risk arrestGood news, at last, for anyone who fancies beating their carpet, sounding a noisy trumpet" or wantonly singing" along a stretch of Merseyside coast: they will no longer face arrest.A 90-year-old bylaw that banned such activities is set to be scrapped by Wirral council. Continue reading...

Ha Dang will head to California in December to take part in the Excel world championships after seeing off 40 rivalsHe will not be the only Briton fancying his chances on the tables in Las Vegas this December, but Ha Dang prefers games of pure skill rather than blind luck.The 33-year-old has booked himself a place at the Microsoft Excel world championships by seeing off more than 40 rivals in the inaugural British competition, a feat that has left him astounded and privileged". Continue reading...

The bossa nova pianist Francisco Tenorio Cerqueira Junior went out for cigarettes after a concert in Buenos Aires - a forensic team has finally revealed his fateEarly on 18 March 1976, Francisco Tenorio Cerqueira Junior, a Brazilian pianist who had played alongside some of Latin America's greatest musicians, disappeared from the streets of Buenos Aires.For nearly 50 years, his fate has remained a mystery, sparking desperate searches, raising suspicions of government complicity, and inspiring international documentaries. Now the mystery has been solved, with forensic scientists formally identifying Tenorio Junior's body - and confirming he was a victim of Argentina's bloody dictatorship. Continue reading...

Defence minister says Henderson naval shipyard south of Perth very much an Australian sovereign capability' but admits US will use it too

Thousands of asylum seekers left without lawyers after firm took on thousands of cases with just five solicitorsAn immigration law firm that signed up thousands of asylum seekers and generated income of 1.7m in legal aid in the last year, despite only employing five solicitors to represent them, has had its government contract terminated after concerns about its performance, the Guardian has learned.The decision leaves many asylum seekers struggling to find new legal representatives at a time when the government is increasing the number of cases it refuses. Continue reading...

Kellie Sloane has ruled out moving a spill and James Griffin isn't eager. Alister Henskens is thought to lack the numbers. So, for now, the leader might be safe

Can you call the boss a dickhead' or argue that being called messy is harassment? Tribunal judges have their work cut outUsually the forum for humdrum disputes over hourly rates and unpaid overtime - employment tribunals are not the first place you'd look for an eye-catching yarn.But for dedicated followers of the tribunal service's list, recent weeks have been a purple patch of zingers, with judges settling the kinds of rows that belong more in a soap opera than in civil proceedings. Continue reading...

UK insurers require critical modifications for sale in country with higher levels of car theft than ChinaBritish authorities may have well-founded concerns about the cyber-spying threat from vehicles made in China, but it turns out the country's manufacturers have security worries of their own.Insurers have told Chinese carmakers they need certain critical modifications for vehicles on British streets: namely, tougher locking devices to make them harder to steal. Continue reading...

Official figures indicate net migration is falling, yet concern among Britons is close to the highest it has been since polling began in 1974Rolling news coverage of protests outside asylum hotels, a series of government announcements on asylum seekers, and Reform's party conference meant that immigration was once again the political topic of the summer.In August almost half of Britons (48%) listed immigration as one of the top issues facing the UK. This year has recorded the highest concerns over immigration - outside of one other period during the 2015 Europe migrant crisis - since polling company Ipsos started asking the question in 1974. Continue reading...

In his international dash for cash, Johnson appears to have repeatedly broken ethics rules as he tried to trade on relationships made in No 10Boris Johnson started the day with a jog. He had the kind of schedule that would be familiar to any occupant of Downing Street. From 8.44am, he talked with his aides, then chaired cabinet, ate lunch, prepped for prime minister's questions, took a briefing on security threats, and got ready for an interview with one of Rupert Murdoch's reporters.The entry for 5.48pm in the official log for Tuesday 26 April 2022 contains one of several privileged interactions that he would later seek to exploit for financial gain. Johnson was in his office, the log notes, alone texting MBS". Continue reading...

Opposition leader announces wider-than-expected shake-up amid fallout from NT senator's Indian migrant comments. Follow today's news live

More than 125 specialist officers search abandoned structures, mineshafts and huts' with Victoria police reaffirming resolve to find alleged killer

Sit Down was played at unite the kingdom' rally in London but singer says band is antithesis' of far-right movementThe lead singer of the band James has criticised Tommy Robinson for the cynical" use of the group's hit song in a protest video.Tim Booth said he was disgusted" that the alternative rock band's single Sit Down had been played without their permission, as he believed the song was the antithesis" of the far-right activist's movement. Continue reading...

Fishing village of Labodrie reportedly set on fire after killing of a gang leader in sign of rising violence outside capitalThe UN secretary-general has condemned the reported killing of at least 40 people during an attack by armed gangs in a fishing village north of Haiti's capital.Media in Haiti widely reported that the attack took place on Thursday night in Labodrie. It is another sign of escalating gang violence that has spread outside the capital. Continue reading...

Director Basel Adra reports his property was stormed while he was at a hospital with relatives injured in settler attacksPalestinian Oscar-winning director Basel Adra has said that Israeli soldiers have conducted a raid at his West Bank home, searching for him and going through his wife's phone.Israeli settlers attacked his village on Saturday, injuring two of his brothers and one cousin, Adra told the Associated Press. He accompanied them to the hospital. While there, he said that he heard from family in the village that nine Israeli soldiers had stormed his home. Continue reading...

Met police estimate 110,000 people attended rally, with smaller number of counter-protesters penned in'More than a hundred people have gathered outside Russell Square before the march against fascism' counter-protest against the unite the kingdom' march, featuring far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Both are being held in central London on Saturday.According to the PA news agency, people in Russell Square milled around with placards that said refugees welcome" and oppose Tommy Robinson". Chants of say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here" started at about 11.20am, the news agency reports.The far right are a menace to the whole of society. Their first targets, asylum seekers and Muslims, are broadening to all migrants, black people and on to trade unionists, all religious minorities and anti-racists.This is going to be big, but we are also talking about movement to the right of Reform UK and we still don't know where it is going. Continue reading...

Bart De Wever travelled to Essen, Germany to hear performance conducted by Lahav Shani, the music director of the Israel PhilharmonicBelgium's prime minister, Bart De Wever, has said he attended a concert by a German orchestra that was uninvited from a Belgian festival to show support for its Israeli conductor.The cancellation of a planned performance at the Flanders festival Ghent by the Munich Philharmonic over concerns about its Israeli future chief conductor, Lahav Shani, has triggered a storm of criticism and accusations of antisemitism. Continue reading...

NSW government to rezone Paramatta Road corridor and make room for 8,000 new homes - but plan omits mooted light rail

Preventive operations' included putting air defence systems on high alert and followed serious Russian incursion earlier in the weekPolish and allied aircraft have been deployed in a preventive" operation in Poland's airspace because of a threat of drone strikes in neighbouring areas of Ukraine, and the airport in the eastern Polish city of Lublin was closed, authorities have said.The alert on Saturday lasted about two hours. On Wednesday multiple Russian drones had crossed into Poland, prompting Nato to send fighter jets to shoot them down, underlining long-held concerns about the expansion of Russia's more than three-year war in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Head of Bashkortostan region reports second drone shot down and minor damage to Bashneft's Ufa refineryA Ukrainian drone has crashed into one of Russia's largest oil-refining complexes, sparking a fire and causing minor damage, a Russian official has said.The complex, which belongs to Russian oil company Bashneft, lies on the outskirts of the central Russian city of Ufa about 870 miles (1,400km) from the frontline in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Union makes announcement alongside condemnation of racial abuse George Abaraonye suffered after inappropriate remarks' celebrating shooting Charlie Kirk shooting - US politics liveThe president-elect of the Oxford Union will face disciplinary proceedings for making inappropriate remarks" celebrating the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, the union has announced on social media.George Abaraonye, a student at the University of Oxford who became president-elect of the debating society after a vote in June, posted several comments in a WhatsApp group appearing to celebrate what happened, according to the Telegraph. Continue reading...

Twelve soldiers also killed during raids on two TTP hideouts on border with AfghanistanFierce clashes broke out in Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan when Pakistani security forces raided two hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban, killing 12 soldiers and 35 militants, the military said on Saturday.Twenty-two militants were killed in the first raid in Bajaur, a district in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Thirteen more were killed in a separate operation in South Waziristan district. Continue reading...

Three years after leak led to claims of social media spying, city authorities have agreed to independent investigationI've realised how damaging the whole thing's been because, you know, you can't trust people," Jen Smith says from her home in Bristol.Smith is one of a number of parents of children with special education needs and disabilities (Send) who allege Bristol city council spied on them because of their online criticism of the local authority. Continue reading...