General news

• ‘Absolute chaos’: counting the cost of a deadly wildfire in northern Portugal

  27-09-2024 13:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Residents of Albergaria-a-Velha tell of the fear and losses brought by a blazethat evoked memories of 2017 disasterThe fires are out in Albergaria-a-Velha now, their embers washed away by the heavy rain. But their reek still carries on the damp air, rising from the sooty earth, the scorched tree trunks, the burnt-out cars and houses, and the puddles of black and acrid water.If the numbers offer a glimpse of the toll that last week’s wildfires took on this northern Portuguese municipality &
  
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• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah reportedly targeted in Israeli airstrikes on Beirut – Middle East crisis live

  27-09-2024 19:14 via theguardian.com
  Israel says it carried out multiple strikes on Hezbollah’s main military HQ in Beirut suburbs; Nasrallah reported to be alive and ‘fine’The Israeli military said drones and rockets crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon on Friday, as Lebanon’s Hezbollah claimed a rocket attack on the Israeli city of Tiberias (see 9am BST).The drones infiltrated the coastal area of Rosh HaNikra and were intercepted by the military’s defences, the Israeli military said, adding se
  
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• Stock markets hit record highs after news of a fall in US inflation

  27-09-2024 19:06 via theguardian.com
  S&P 500 index of major US companies registers near 100% gain on year ago amid expectation of interest rate cutsA fall in US inflation expected to pave the way for further cuts in interest rates pushed stock markets to record highs on Friday.Ending a week of gains that began when the Chinese authorities approved a huge economic stimulus package, the S&P 500 index of major US companies soared above 5,750 to register a near 100% gain on a year ago. Continue reading...
  
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• Peer gave Keir Starmer more clothes worth £16,000, declared as money for private office

  27-09-2024 19:01 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: Donations worth £10,000 in October 2023 and £6,000 in February 2024 bring gifted clothes total to £32,000Keir Starmer was given a further £16,000 worth of clothes by the Labour peer Waheed Alli, which was declared as money for his private office, the Guardian can reveal.The donations, comprising £10,000 in October 2023 and £6,000 in February 2024, bring the total amount in gifted clothes to £32,000. Continue reading...
  
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• New relationship with EU possible but will not be easy, Keir Starmer says

  27-09-2024 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  PM hopes to work more closely on defence, borders and trade with EU as he sets meeting with von der LeyenKeir Starmer has said a new relationship with the European Union will not be easy “but is possible” before a meeting with Ursula von der Leyen next week, as he set out defence, borders and trade as areas where he hopes for improvement.The prime minister spoke of his hopes for a reset and did not rule out accepting an EU proposal for greater youth mobility – including easier
  
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• Investors do not share Elon Musk’s negative view of UK, says Keir Starmer

  27-09-2024 19:00 via theguardian.com
  Prime minister hits back in spat over tech entrepreneur’s non-invitation to British investment summitKeir Starmer has pushed back against Elon Musk’s jibes at the UK for “releasing paedophiles” after the billionaire was not invited to the government’s investment summit, saying other business leaders do not share his negative view of Britain.The prime minister said a representative of Musk’s SpaceX had been invited to the summit, due to take place in October, a
  
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• Hurricane Helene live updates: at least 20 killed as hurricane center warns of ‘historic and catastrophic flooding’

  27-09-2024 19:00 via theguardian.com
  Death toll continues to rise in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas as Hurricane Helene tears into the US south-eastMultiple people killed as deadly storm hits south-eastern USThe National Hurricane Center has said Helene is now a tropical storm as it moves farther inland over Georgia. It noted that “life-threatening storm surge, winds, and heavy rains continue.”In a 4am update, the National Hurricane Center said “Helene continues to move inland over central Georgia and is prod
  
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• Chappell Roan cancels US festival appearance: ‘Things have gotten really overwhelming’

  27-09-2024 18:57 via theguardian.com
  The rising star has pulled out of All Things Go festival in DC and New York City this weekend with a statement expressing the need to prioritise her healthSinger Chappell Roan has pulled out of an appearance at this weekend’s All Things Go festival, claiming that her situation has become “overwhelming”.The rising star, who currently has seven songs in the Billboard Top 100, released a statement on her Instagram stories, announcing that she won’t appear at either the DC or
  
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• Israel says heavy air attack on Beirut targeted Hezbollah HQ

  27-09-2024 18:55 via theguardian.com
  Reports say Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target and military is checking whether he was hitMiddle East crisis – latest news updatesIsrael has launched its heaviest air attack on Beirut in almost a year of conflict with Hezbollah, levelling a number of buildings in the city’s southern suburbs in strikes that it said targeted the militant group’s central headquarters.Six loud explosions were heard across the Lebanese capital late on Friday afternoon, and multiple lar
  
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• ‘I was scared as hell’: Florida residents dig out after Helene landfall

  27-09-2024 18:55 via theguardian.com
  For those that ignored dire evacuation orders, a day of clean-up follows a night of traumatic fearThe warnings about Hurricane Helene were dire and for the residents of Taylor county on the Gulf coast of Florida they were necessary.“A mandatory evacuation for Taylor county residents has been ordered,” came the first message from local and state authorities. Continue reading...
  
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• Justice department charges Iranian operatives in Trump campaign hack

  27-09-2024 18:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Hackers were trying to undermine Trump’s campaign as Republican nominee for president, says Merrick GarlandThe US justice department unsealed criminal charges on Friday against three Iranian operatives suspected of hacking Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and disseminating stolen information to media organizations.The US attorney general, Merrick Garland, said on Friday afternoon that hackers were trying to undermine Trump’s campaign, as the Republican nominee for president
  
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• Sue Gray’s struggles reflect how No 10 works – but she must not be story

  27-09-2024 18:53 via theguardian.com
  Advisers to prime ministers are often targets of sniping but being in news is not sustainable for Starmer’s chief of staffFor someone who was not even in Liverpool for the Labour conference, Sue Gray was the subject of a remarkable amount of conversation. So what does the future hold for Keir Starmer’s chief of staff – and how much is she just a victim of circumstance?The basic facts, as far as they are agreed, are well-aired: Gray is either a much-needed injection of civil ser
  
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• Hurricane Helene: number of reported deaths rising as storm hits south-eastern US

  27-09-2024 18:35 via theguardian.com
  Storm made landfall in Florida and moved quickly, causing deaths and about 4m power outages in multiple statesHurricane Helene – live updatesHelene has reportedly killed at least 20 people and inflicted more than 4m power outages across the south-eastern US after crashing ashore in north-western Florida late on Thursday as a potent category 4 hurricane, according to officials.The storm – which registered maximum sustained winds of 140mph (225km/h) – had weakened to a tropical s
  
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• Former ‘rudest restaurant in London’ fined after mice found in kitchen

  27-09-2024 18:30 via theguardian.com
  Chinatown’s renowned Wong Kei prosecuted for food hygiene offences and fined more than £40,000A restaurant in London’s Chinatown once called the capital’s rudest has been fined more than £40,000 after mice and cockroaches were found in its kitchen.Wong Kei, which has traded on Wardour Street for decades and was “once famous for its impersonal level of service”, as the online guide to Chinatown puts it, was prosecuted for food hygiene offences and after i
  
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• Ex-councillor in West Yorkshire jailed for ‘voyeurism on a vast scale’

  27-09-2024 18:13 via theguardian.com
  Robert Holden used hidden cameras to film 28 women in bathrooms and bedrooms over a period of almost 15 yearsA “depraved and selfish” former councillor who filmed 28 women in bathrooms and bedrooms using hidden cameras over a period of almost 15 years has been jailed for six years and two months.Bradford crown court heard emotional statements from many of the women targeted by Robert Holden, 51, describing how his “perverted fetish” had left them feeling “violated,
  
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• Judge who sentenced Evan Gershkovich says trial did not look at evidence

  27-09-2024 17:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Neither prosecution nor defence asked for material evidence to be examined in case of US journalist, judge saysThe Russian judge who convicted the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has said the trial was short because it did not examine any “material evidence” and the verdict did not take long because he could “type quickly”.“The case itself was small. I don’t remember how many folders there were – three or five,” said Andrei Mineyev, a
  
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• UK weather: strong wind warning issued as England and Wales cope with floods

  27-09-2024 17:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Transport disrupted and more than 60 flood warnings still in place, with more downpours to comeThe Met Office has issued a weather warning for strong winds on Sunday as parts of the country recovered from heavy rain and flooding. Flooding disrupted rail services in England and Wales on Friday morning and led to the closure of the M5 motorway in both directions in Gloucestershire.The Environment Agency told drivers their cars could be swept away in as little as 30cm (12in) of water as more than 6
  
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• Trump and Zelenskyy meet for high-stakes talks in New York

  27-09-2024 17:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Pair meet amid feud between Zelenskyy and Republicans that Ukraine fears could paralyse military aid if Trump winsDonald Trump has met Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York in a high-stakes meeting at which the Ukrainian leader hoped to repair ties with the former US president.The two men met at Trump Tower on Friday amid a growing feud between Zelenskyy and Republicans that Ukraine fears could sabotage further US military aid if Trump wins in November. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘People are dying’: Rise of nitazenes should be treated as pandemic, injecting centre head says

  27-09-2024 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Dr Marianne Jauncey says NSW government must make ‘hard decisions’ to combat growing threat of synthetic opioidsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe head doctor at Sydney’s medically supervised injecting centre has compared the rise of synthetic opioids to a pandemic and says she is worried the government isn’t willing to make the “hard decisions” necessary to prepare for it.Dr Marianne Jauncey began raising the alarm about
  
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• How the most affluent Australians disproportionately benefit from negative gearing

  27-09-2024 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Those in the top tax bracket three times more likely to be negatively geared property investor, says economistGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNegative gearing helps high-earning Australians the most, with those with income of more than $180,000 annually snaring almost one-quarter of the benefits, despite numbering just 5% of taxpayers.Data from the Australian Taxation Office showed people who earn more than $180,000 were able to lower their collective tax bill by $1.3b
  
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• Bottom-breathing turtle among Queensland endangered species under threat from invasive fish

  27-09-2024 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Record floods propel aggressive Mozambique tilapia throughout Mary River, compromising efforts to save ancient fish and endangered turtlesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastRecord floods have propelled an aggressive invasive fish species across a south-east Queensland river catchment, compromising efforts to save endangered and ancient fishes and turtles.The Moonaboola (Mary) river catchment is home to several threatened species, including the Mary River turtle, the white
  
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• Cinema in mafia boss’s Sicily hometown refuses to show film of his life

  27-09-2024 16:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Venue owner says Sicilian Letters, about the Cosa Nostra leader Matteo Messina Denaro, ‘doesn’t interest me’The owner of the only cinema in Castelvetrano, the Sicilian hometown of the notorious Cosa Nostra mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, has refused to screen a film based on his life.Denaro died of cancer in September last year, nine months after he was arrested following 30 years on the run. Continue reading...
  
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• Libya central bank deal could resolve ‘all political issues’, says head of state

  27-09-2024 16:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Mohamed al-Menfi defends dismissal of previous governor and says deal will bring back international accountabilityA deal backed by leaders on both sides of Libya’s political divide to appoint a new central bank governor has the potential “to resolve all the political issues” in the country, Libya’s head of state has said.Mohamed al-Menfi, the president of Libya’s Presidential Council who is largely aligned with the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, was accused of
  
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• UN hostility will not trouble Netanyahu, but now he has angered the US | Patrick Wintour

  27-09-2024 14:37 via theguardian.com
  Tension between the Israeli PM and the UN has never been so high, but his behaviour over the Lebanon ceasefire has given him a bigger problemMiddle East crisis – latest news updatesThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has for decades used set-piece speeches to the UN to denounce it. In 2017, he said it had been “the epicentre of global antisemitism” and there was “no limit to the UN’s absurdities when it comes to Israel”, but never have the tensions
  
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• Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group raises offer to buy Rightmove to £6.2bn

  27-09-2024 14:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Australian group calls on Rightmove board to ‘engage now’ after fourth offer for UK online property portalRupert Murdoch’s REA Group has made a fourth attempt to buy Rightmove, increasing its offer to £6.2bn as it steps up its pursuit of the UK’s largest online property portal.The Australian property group, which is controlled by News Corp, raised its cash and shares offer from the £6.1bn offered earlier this week and called on Rightmove’s board to &ldqu
  
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• Lebanon ceasefire hopes fade as Netanyahu issues contradictory statements

  27-09-2024 14:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Twin statements by Israeli PM appear to wrongfoot US officials ahead of his speech at UN general assemblyMiddle East crisis – latest news updatesOptimism that a three-week ceasefire could be reached between Hezbollah and Israel appeared to recede as Benjamin Netanyahu issued a pair of contradictory statements on the proposal within hours of each other, as fresh Israeli strikes on Lebanon in the early hours of Friday killed 25 people.In the latest statement from Netanyahu’s office, is
  
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• ‘Clear timeline’ for Palestinian statehood needed: Penny Wong escalates language in UN speech

  27-09-2024 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Penny Wong says she shares frustration of ‘great majority of countries’ about a lack of progress to recognise a Palestinian stateGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia has suggested the world should set “a clear timeline for the international declaration of Palestinian statehood” in a sign of increasing frustration about the stalled peace process.The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will float the idea in a speech to the UN general assem
  
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• São Paulo election ‘a horror show’ as candidates trade blows and insults

  27-09-2024 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Two televised debates ahead of 6 October mayoral election turn physically violent, with participants treated in hospitalBrazilians call overcast São Paulo their country’s “land of drizzle”.But in recent months it has been raining punches not precipitation as Latin America’s largest city endures what observers call the most violent and unruly election in its history. Continue reading...
  
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• Anti-immigration mood sweeping EU threatens its new asylum strategy

  27-09-2024 13:24 via theguardian.com
  
  The bloc’s migration pact, finally agreed after a decade of talks, is already in peril as states outdo each other in efforts to get toughIn 2015, when more than 1.3 million people headed to Europe, mostly fleeing a brutal war in Syria, the response of Germany’s then chancellor, Angela Merkel, was to say “Wir schaffen das” (“We can manage this”), and open the country’s borders.Less than a decade later, and faced with a flow of irregular arrivals less than
  
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• Who is Japan’s new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba?

  27-09-2024 12:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Moderate faces challenges over cost-of-living crisis, public trustand threats to regional stability from China and North KoreaShigeru Ishiba’s determination to lead Japan has never been in question, and now the veteran MP is poised to achieve that goal at the fifth time of asking after winning the race to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) on Friday.The 67-year-old will be installed as Japan’s new prime minister on Tuesday by the LDP-controlled parliament. Continue readin
  
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