World news | The Guardian

UN condemns arbitrary detentions' by Iran-backed group at World Food Programme and Unicef offices in YemenThe Iranian-backed Houthis raided offices of the UN's food, health and children's agencies in Yemen's capital, detaining at least 11 employees, as the rebels tightened security across Sana'a after the Israeli killing of their prime minister and several cabinet members.The UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said on Sunday evening: I strongly condemn the new wave of arbitrary detentions of UN personnel today in Sana'a and Hodeidah ... as well as the forced entry into UN premises and seizure of UN property. At least 11 UN personnel were detained." Continue reading...

Stanford University staff and academic experts raise questions over Tory leader's claim of place and partial scholarship offered at 16Doubts have surfaced over Kemi Badenoch's claim to have been offered a place at a prestigious US medical school at 16, with admissions staff unable to recall the proposal and the university not providing the course.The Conservative leader has said in interviews that she was offered a place and a partial scholarship to study medicine - sometimes describing it as pre-medicine - at Stanford University in California, one of the most competitive in the US. Continue reading...

Toll includes 13 people trying to get food near distribution point, as Israeli cabinet to discuss next stages of offensiveIsraeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 30 people in and around Gaza City, local health authorities said, as a 20-boat humanitarian aid flotilla carrying activists including Greta Thunberg set sail from Barcelona for the stricken territory.Authorities said the toll from Israeli tank and gunfire included 13 people who died trying to get food near a distribution site in the Gaza Strip, two in a house in Gaza City and 15, including five children, in a strike on a residential building on Saturday.With Reuters and Agence France-Presse Continue reading...

Officers want to question a man after two men were injured within 24 hours over the weekend in LondonPolice have released a CCTV image of a man they want to question after two people were stabbed at Oxford Circus tube station in London within 24 hours of each other over the weekend.Emergency services were called to two incidents in the early hours over the weekend, which police said were connected. The first incident took place at 3.40am on Saturday and the second just after 1.30am on Sunday. Continue reading...

MoD says agreement will support 4,000 jobs and significantly strengthen Nato's northern flank'Norway has agreed a 10bn deal for anti-submarine warships that will be built in the UK, as the two countries plan joint operations in northern Europe to deal with increased Russian activity.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the agreement to build Type 26 frigates was the UK's biggest ever warship export deal by value, and Norway's biggest defence procurement deal. Continue reading...

Chinese president hosts bilateral meetings on sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in TianjinXi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have met on the sidelines of a showpiece summit in China that seeks to challenge US-led, western-dominated blocs and is being attended by the leaders of more than two dozen nations.The Chinese and Russian leaders, who are closely allied under what they have termed a limitless" partnership, discussed Putin's recent meeting with Donald Trump, according to a Kremlin official, who gave no further details. Continue reading...

Mayor says city stands firm against antisemitism after message scratched into black marble memorialA Holocaust memorial unveiled only eight months ago in the French city of Lyon has been inscribed with the words Free Gaza", local officials said, amid growing concern about antisemitic incidents in France.The words were scratched into the black marble memorial late on Saturday, the city's mayor, Gregory Doucet, said. Yonathan Arfi, of the Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF), posted a photo on social media and called the incident despicable". Continue reading...

Home secretary could face legal action over decision to keep 25-year-old man from Nigeria in prisonYvette Cooper could face legal action over the decision to keep an asylum seeker with schizophrenia in prison.The high court has ordered the home secretary to release the 25-year-old man by 8 September, and the Home Office may have to pay him damages for breaching his human rights. Continue reading...

Russian president and his Chinese counterpart shake hands as more than 20 world leaders attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in TianjinFollowing a meeting with Ukraine's top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country's forces are planning new strikes deep into Russia.In a post on X, the Ukrainian leader wrote:We analysed in detail the situation in the Zaporizhzhia direction and the enemy's intentions. Also the situation in the border areas of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.We will continue our active operations in exactly the way needed for Ukraine's defence. The forces and resources are prepared. New deep strikes have also been planned. Continue reading...

A Year in Normandy features iPad works with which British artist brought people comfort during Covid crisisIn the spring of 2020, as the Covid-19 virus was going mad", David Hockney kept himself busy by painting winter trees bursting into blossom in his Normandy garden. Many people said my drawings were a great respite from what was going on," Britain's pre-eminent living artist said at the time.Citizens of the post-pandemic world, with its rollercoaster of conflict, rightwing populism, climate crisis and techno-revolution, may still be in need of Hockney's respite by next spring. They will find it at an exhibition of his extraordinary 90-metre frieze, A Year in Normandy, and other works at the Serpentine gallery in London. Continue reading...

No one matched the six numbers since 31 May as jackpot swells to $1.1bn, the fifth-largest prize in game's historyPlayers in a US lottery will get another chance Monday at a jackpot estimated at over $1bn.No one has matched all six numbers in the Powerball game since 31 May, allowing the jackpot to swell to $1.1bn, which would be the fifth-largest prize in the game's history. Payments would be spread over 30 years, or a winner could choose an immediate lump sum of an estimated $498.4m, again before taxes. Continue reading...

Family submitted a case last year accusing police, social services and courts of serious failings' but had no responseThe family of a woman killed by an ex-partner who bombarded her with hundreds of messages and calls will ask a judge on Monday to force the French authorities to explain why they failed to protect her.Sandra Pla had complained to police three times about Mickael Falou's threatening behaviour over a period of six months, but her application for a protection order was rejected. Continue reading...

Oxfordshire manor once planned as hub for global technologists and philosophers now offered at 5.95mWytham Abbey, a 15th-century grade I-listed manor that was once planned as a hub for technologists and philosophers to solve some of the world's toughest problems, has had its sale price slashed by 60% to 5.95m as its charity owners struggle to find a buyer.The Effective Ventures Foundation (EVF), formerly the Centre for Effective Altruism, bought the 27-bedroom, 18-bathroom Oxfordshire estate in April 2022. Continue reading...

Infant's mother had not been vaccinated against the highly infectious disease, which affects the lungs and airwaysA baby in the UK has died from whooping cough, marking the first such death in the country this year.The infant's mother had not been vaccinated against the highly infectious disease, which affects the lungs and airways. This death occurred as vaccination rates among children and pregnant women in the UK have fallen to their lowest levels in 15 years. Continue reading...

There is no shortage of challenges for the PM as MPs head back to Westminster and he tries to get on the front footAs Keir Starmer returns from his summer break in Europe, and Labour MPs head back to Westminster for the new parliamentary session, the government will be hoping to get on the front foot after a tumultuous few months.The recess has given ministers time to think, and to plan, but also the chance to study the polls. This week, YouGov put Labour on just 20% - the lowest level in more than five years - and eight points behind Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Continue reading...

Deputy leader says archbishop should stay out of matter after Stephen Cottrell calls policy isolationist and kneejerkReform UK has engaged in a war of words with the Church of England over the party's plans to deport all asylum seekers who arrive in small boats, after the church's most senior bishop called the proposal isolationist, short-term [and] kneejerk".Richard Tice, the party's deputy leader, hit back against the archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, on Sunday, accusing him of interfering in domestic politics. Continue reading...

Education secretary targets 800 schools as she attempts to turn around post-Covid trends with enhanced supportParents and caregivers need to do more" to reverse post-Covid trends of poor attendance and behaviour in schools, the education secretary has said, announcing new measures to support schools in England before the start of the new school year.Bridget Phillipson unveiled a UK government programme on Sunday targeting 800 schools attended by about 600,000 pupils, beginning with an initial wave of 21 schools that will serve as attendance and behaviour hubs. Continue reading...

Critics of the legislation want the government to water it down, but for many employees change can't come too soonWhen Seamus Foley took a job on a zero-hours contract at a board games bar in London two years ago, the flexibility it offered was appealing. Now, it is a deal so bad he is prepared to walk out on strike.It's exhausting. You're constantly living your life on the back foot," says the employee at Draughts, which has bars in Stratford and Waterloo. There, workers fed up with last-minute rota changes and a lack of basic protections are staging industrial action. Continue reading...

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson joins gathering in Canberra while far-right figure speaks outside state parliament in Melbourne

This blog is now closedAsked about the planned anti-immigration protests across Australia today, Julian Leeser says he's concerned about some of the anti-Indian and antisemitic sentiment being expressed. But he also adds that there are people who will be attending these protests with goodwill":There are people there of goodwill who want to change policies in relation to this country. But I would say to them be careful of the company you keep. I've seen some of the material for that particular protest and I'm really concerned about the anti-Indian sentiment that is being expressed and some of the antisemitic undertones of some of those protests.We are working through this legislation through our processes but I will say this: This cohort of people have had ample opportunities to put their case. They have exhausted all appeal avenues and the question now is whether they can be removed to another country.This is a legitimate arrangement. The only reason people can remain in Australia - and this is very well established under the migration law of this country - is if they have an Australian citizen or on a valid visa. Continue reading...

The 18m deal to acquire Challenge Recruitment Group assets from administration repaid private funders in fullThe UK exchequer is chasing about 90m in unpaid taxes after a temporary staffing business was rescued from insolvency proceedings in an 18m deal that reimbursed private funders in full.The main assets of Challenge Recruitment Group, which counted Tesco, Sainsbury's and Co-op among its top customers, were acquired from administration in July by the US website swipejobs, in what appears to be the second time the British staffing business has emerged from insolvency while owing tens of millions of pounds to the exchequer. Continue reading...

Amalia Freeman says Victoria police have her full support' in search for fugitive accused of fatally shooting two officers

Ten years after Angela Merkel declared We can do this' at the height of the 2015 migration into Europe, Syrian refugee Somar Kreker looks back at his 44-day odysseyThe trip would be tough, Somar Kreker knew, but he was not overly fearful. It was the summer of 2015, and in a small flat in Amman, Jordan, this young Syrian's only thought was how to turn a long and arduous journey into something more bearable. The engineering student had fled Syria three and a half years earlier after refusing to enlist in the brutal regime's army. He was now ready to begin a new chapter of his life, starting with a new task: to reunite with his younger sisters, still trapped in Damascus, and lead them to Germany, where their brother was living.I was never worried or stressed about the trip," says Somar, just 27 years old at the time. I never had any thought about danger or failure. My only thoughts were how I could make the trip a happy adventure for me and my sisters. Continue reading...

Ahmed al-Rahawi killed alongside several ministers gathered for prerecorded speech by rebel group's leaderAn Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the Houthi rebel-controlled government in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, the Houthis have said.Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a strike in Sana'a on Thursday along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement on Saturday. Other ministers and officials were wounded, the statement added without providing further details. Continue reading...

Irish aid worker and director Gena Heraty was taken along with seven Haitians, including a three-year-old childAn Irish aid worker and seven fellow captives have been released nearly a month after they were kidnapped in Haiti.Gena Heraty, a missionary who ran the Our Little Brothers and Sisters orphanage in the hills outside Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, was abducted on 3 August along with seven Haitians, including a three-year-old child. Continue reading...

Jewish Artists for Palestine interrupted a BBC Proms performance at Royal Albert Hall on Friday, claiming the MSO silenced artists' and silenced protest'

In federal court documents, the 24-year-old's family claim officers acted unlawfully in apprehending him and applying force to him such as to cause the loss of his life'Warning: This article contains reference to Indigenous Australians who have died

Peer who appeared on I'm a Celebrity denies charges of rape and sexual assault at Westminster magistrates courtA celebrity peer and former reality TV show contestant has appeared in court after being charged with rape and sexual assault by penetration, police said.Lord Charles Brocket, 73, a contestant on I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!, appeared at Westminster magistrates court on Saturday. Continue reading...

Two anti-asylum groups marched to Crowne Plaza before attempting to enter building at rear, Met police sayFive people have been arrested at a protest in London where a group of masked men attempted to enter a hotel housing asylum seekers on Saturday.At about noon, two anti-asylum groups marched to the Crowne Plaza in Stockley Road, west London, and a group of men in masks attempted to enter the building through the rear entrance and damaged security fences, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy shot dead as EU ministers meet to discuss measures to force Moscow to the negotiating tableA Ukrainian former parliamentary speaker was shot dead in Lviv on Saturday, authorities said, as European foreign ministers met to discuss increasing pressure on Moscow to end its war against Ukraine.Andriy Parubiy, a member of parliament who served as parliamentary speaker from 2016 to 2019 and a key figure in Ukraine's 2013 pro-European Maidan revolution, was shot dead, prosecutors said. A murder investigation has been launched and the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, condemned the killing as a horrific murder". Continue reading...

Eleanor Lyons will interview women who say they have been trafficked into sex work and advertised onlineThe independent anti-slavery commissioner has launched an investigation into so-called pimping websites amid concern at the level of exploitation of trafficked and vulnerable women on those platforms.Eleanor Lyons will interview women who say they have been trafficked into sex work and advertised on adult services websites such as Vivastreet that allow users to browse images and videos of women selling sex in their local area. Continue reading...

Armoured vehicle hit in Zeitoun neighbourhood as Arab media reports intense clashes in the areaSeven Israeli soldiers were wounded in an explosion targeting an armoured vehicle in Gaza City on Friday night, the Israel Defense Forces have said.The soldiers were wounded while operating in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, which has been the site of intense Israeli military activity in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Trials of baxdrostat have produced exciting' results for people whose hypertension has proved difficult to controlDoctors are hailing a new pill for patients with high blood pressure resistant to existing medication as a gamechanger" and a triumph of science".Globally, more than 1.3 billion people have hypertension. In half of them, their high blood pressure is uncontrolled or resistant to existing treatments. They face a much higher risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and early death. Continue reading...

Lower court to decide if Ralph Leroy Menzies, who killed Maurine Hunsaker in 1986, is competent to face executionThe impending execution of a man by firing squad in Utah was blocked by the state's supreme court on Friday after his attorneys argued he should be spared because he has dementia.Ralph Leroy Menzies, 67, was set to be executed on 5 September for abducting and killing Utah mother of three Maurine Hunsaker in 1986. When given a choice decades ago, Menzies selected a firing squad as his method of execution. He would have become only the sixth US prisoner executed by firing squad since 1977. Continue reading...

As fertility rate hits all-time low in England and Wales, is there cause for concern for the economy and services?We happen to be alive at this really transitional moment," said Prof Jane Falkingham, the director of the Centre for Population Change at the University of Southampton. We're moving from a world with high fertility and high mortality to a world of low mortality and low fertility. We have to get our heads around how we're going to make that transition from the old world to the new world."Earlier this week, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the fertility rate for England and Wales had fallen for the third year in a row to reach a record low of 1.41. The rate represents the average number of live children women can expect to have in their child-bearing life. Continue reading...

Citizen patrols' and self-styled protective forces are fuelling social fears and the far right, say expertsSporting black shirts emblazoned with an iron cross, a dozen or so men marched through the centre of Reykjavik, courting attention on a buzzy Friday night. In Poland and the Netherlands, vigilantes thronged along the German border, ready to turn back any asylum seekers they came across. In Belfast, they roamed after sunset, demanding to see the identity documents of migrants and people of colour.Each of the groups, who are part of a renewed wave of anti-migrant vigilantes that have sprung up in recent months across Europe, have sought to cast themselves as a sort of protective force. But those who have studied vigilantes warn that their actions often exacerbate security concerns, sow fear and fuel the far right. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closedAndriy Parubiy, a Ukrainian politician who previously served as the parliament speaker, has been shot dead in western city of Lviv, say officials.Confirming the news, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X:Ukraine's minister of internal affairs Ihor Klymenko and prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko have just reported the first known circumstances of the horrendous murder in Lviv. Andriy Parubiy was killed.My condolences to his family and loved ones. All necessary forces and means are engaged in the investigation and search for the killer. Continue reading...

Charlie Falconer says government was right to challenge Epping hotel ruling but now has to move forward'A former Labour justice secretary has warned that Reform UK will continue to rise in opinion polls unless the government moves faster to close hotels housing people seeking asylum.On Friday, the government won a court of appeal challenge against an injunction by Epping Forest district council that would have resulted in 130 asylum seekers being moved out of the Bell hotel. In recent weeks the hotel has become the focus of repeated protests, some of which have been orchestrated by far-right extremists and have turned violent. Continue reading...

Cities in Indonesia rocked by protests after motorcycle taxi driver run over by police tactical vehicleProtesters have torched parliamentary buildings in three further Indonesian provinces, a day after at least three people were killed by a fire started by demonstrators at a council building in the city of Makassar.Protests erupted across Indonesia after footage spread showing a motorcycle taxi driver being run over and killed by a police vehicle on Thursday night during earlier demonstrations over low wages for workers and perks for lawmakers. Continue reading...

Police launch investigation into escalation of dispute in bar in Evreux, Normandy, after five others injuredA man has driven a car into a crowd outside a bar in northern France after a dispute in which one person was killed and five others injured, according to prosecutors.The incident took place in the town of Evreux, Normandy, at about 4am on Saturday. Continue reading...

The clandestine businesses - a financial lifeline for many women - have been given a month to cease operationsThe Taliban have issued an order targeting underground beauty salons operating in secret across Afghanistan, warning the women running them that they have one month to stop or face arrest.Officially, all beauty salons were closed by the Taliban in August 2023, shuttering 12,000 businesses with the loss of more than 50,000 female beautician jobs. Yet clandestine salons have continued to operate within communities across the country. Continue reading...

Regulator Easa concludes there is not enough evidence it is as safe as flying with two pilots as currently requiredProposals for commercial aeroplanes to operate with just one pilot in the cockpit have been put on ice after a report for the European regulator suggested it would make flying more dangerous.A three-year research project into extended minimum crew operations" commissioned by the EU Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) found that despite advances in technology there was not sufficient evidence that flying with a single pilot could be as safe as with the two currently required. Continue reading...

Former Roman Catholic priest and two dominatrices were evidently recording sexual videos in the church in 2020A judge in Louisiana has ordered the return of electronics belonging to an ex-Roman Catholic priest who pleaded guilty to obscenity for being caught having sex with two dominatrices atop a church altar while still belonging to the clergy in 2020.However, the judge also told authorities to erase all data from the devices and storage media as a precaution against videos taken of the tryst from becoming public. Continue reading...

Therapists say they are seeing negative impacts of people increasingly turning to AI chatbots for helpVulnerable people turning to AI chatbots instead of professional therapists for mental health support could be sliding into a dangerous abyss", psychotherapists have warned.Psychotherapists and psychiatristssaid they were increasingly seeing negative impacts of AI chatbots being used for mental health, such as fostering emotional dependence, exacerbating anxiety symptoms, self-diagnosis, or amplifying delusional thought patterns, dark thoughts and suicide ideation. Continue reading...

Some are happy to see new faces in the chambers but many are frustrated with a lack of improvements on the ground since party's sweeping victoriesThis motion is bizarre to say the least," said a bemused Doncaster Labour councillor as Reform proposed that the council fly no flags apart from the union flag from its buildings.It would not just mean no Pride flag on Pride Day, a debate heard. It would mean no white rose flag on Yorkshire Day, no Rovers flag celebrating the football team winning the league, no St George's flag marking England's Lionesses' Euros triumph, and no green flags celebrating municipal park management achievements in the city's green spaces. The motion was a waste of time and a waste of resources", one councillor said. Continue reading...

Users of the salary advance service marketed by their employers say it was all too easy to slip into debt

Critics concerned as Wagestream offers loans of up to 25,000 to workers at Pizza Express, Asda and others

It is understood an investigation will look at whether Paul Bean of Durham council breached civil service codeA local councillor for Reform UK who works for the Home Office processing asylum and immigration claims has been suspended from his job while an investigation is carried out, the Guardian has learned.Paul Bean, who serves as a councillor for Crook ward at Durham county council, declared his day job as a civil servant at the Home Office in his register of interests. Continue reading...

An agreement relating to the NZYQ cohort, who previously faced indefinite immigration detention, was signed by home affairs minister Tony Burke on Friday