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Cuts force World Food Programme to end support for half a million Palestinians in Gaza
Two-thirds of population face crisis levels of food insecurity and 200,000 people are in danger of famine This winter is likely to deepen hunger for Palestinians in Gaza, after sweeping aid cuts forced the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) to end support for more than half a million people each month, the agency’s director for Palestine said. More than a year after a Trump-brokered ceasefire came into force, promised reconstruction has not begun, there are few jobs and the vast majority in Gaza still rely on aid to eat. Continue reading...
Trump to head to Kansas to show support for embattled Marshall – US politics live
Incumbent Republican senator is facing strong challenge from Democrat Adam Hamilton in state that has been red for almost a century Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog. Donald Trump will attend a campaign rally in Kansas later today, where incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall is in an unexpectedly close race with Democrat Adam Hamilton. Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday that “restoration work will begin ” next month to a historic public golf course in Washington DC despite a federal judge’s court order to pause his plans over environmental and historic preservation concerns. He wrote that the facility would be transformed into “one of the Best and Most Spectacular Golf Courses anywhere in the World”. Ilhan Omar ’s attorneys have asked the US Department of Justice to return property that federal agents removed days earlier from her home during a search. The lawyers for the Minnesota Democrat contended that the seizure as “neither justified nor lawful”, according to a letter published on Friday. The federal investigation into Omar was launched just weeks ahead of the 3 November midterms, in which Omar is on the ballot. Former US president Barack Obama condemned comments by Trump’s “border czar” that the Republican presidential administration could “of course” strip Omar of her citizenship and deport her. Obama wrote Sunday morning, on X, that “the full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president. Continue reading...
Pregnant women face workplace hostility and ‘sham redundancies’, Australian human rights report finds
Sex discrimination commissioner says too often ‘it’s the woman who has the burden of bringing a complaint’ in parental discrimination cases Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Women are being forced out of employment through “sham redundancies”, losing shifts and facing hostile work environments after having a baby, according to a report by the Australian Human Rights Commission , which warns parental discrimination remains a major barrier to gender equality. The commission’s report suggests pregnancy discrimination is more prominent for vulnerable groups, including immigrant and First Nations women, people with disability and LGBTQ+ people. The commission held roundtables with dozens of parents, legal and community advocates when compiling the report. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...
China’s economy grows faster than forecast after AI boom boosts exports
Third-quarter GDP up by 4.5% compared with last year as industrial output is buoyed by electronics demand Business live – latest updates Roaring exports lifted China’s economic growth in the third quarter of this year, with factory output growing much faster than consumer spending. China’s GDP grew by 4.5% year-on-year between July and September, the National Bureau of Statistics of China reported on Monday. The figures were better than economists had expected and up from the second quarter’s growth rate of 4.3%. Continue reading...
More than half of UK first-time buyers paying more for mortgage than they did for rent
Hamptons says figure of 56% is highest in at least a decade, with mortgage rates rising since start of Iran war A majority of first-time UK buyers now pay more towards their monthly mortgage bills than they used to pay in rent, the estate agent Hamptons has found. Last month 56% of first-time buyers said their monthly mortgage bills exceeded their previous rent, the highest proportion in at least a decade, according to Hamptons. They paid £39 more on average. Continue reading...
Safety concerns mount over Japan’s traditional festivals after string of fatal accidents
Deputy mayor of Saijo died after becoming trapped under float, days after two similar incidents elsewhere There is mounting concern over the safety of Japan’s traditional festivals after the death of a senior local official who was reportedly crushed beneath a float at an event at the weekend, days after two men died in similar accidents in another part of the country. Akihiro Nabae, the deputy mayor of Saijo in western Japan , was carrying a giant float with other participants in a festival on Saturday when he became trapped beneath the structure, Agence France-Presse reported. Nabae, 62, was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead, local media said, adding that no one else was injured. Continue reading...
US gave us no warning of Russian strikes on Kyiv power plants, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian president accuses Washington of ‘denial of reality’ in ongoing row with Trump over apparent support for Moscow Ukraine did not receive a warning from the US about an impending Russian missile attack on Sunday evening, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, reviving concerns that Washington is withholding intelligence in order to bully Kyiv into capitulating to Moscow. Yuri Ihnat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force, said on television on Monday morning that Ukraine had not received a warning before a Russian missile barrage hit power plants in Kyiv at around 11pm. Earlier, a Ukrainian government official had told the Guardian the US had not warned the capital about the impending missile strike. Continue reading...
At Strasbourg, Gio Reyna is starting to gain what had been elusive: momentum
A goal against PSG is proof on the scoresheet of what can be seen on the teamsheet: At long last, Reyna is getting consistent minutes. For an entire four-year cycle, to write about Gio Reyna was to write about his potential – especially the nagging feeling that it was going unfulfilled. Once hyped as possibly the greatest prospect in US men’s history, a series of injuries kept him from simply taking the field, much less making his mark on it. Since his emergent 2020-21 season, when he logged nearly 2,000 Bundesliga minutes running alongside Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Jadon Sancho, Reyna finished each of the ensuing five seasons without even cresting 630 league minutes. “Rotational” became a generous descriptor for his role at Nottingham Forest on loan, and then last season with Borussia Mönchengladbach. Still, Gregg Berhalter and Mauricio Pochettino kept involving Reyna with the US squad based on that pesky potential – betting that, on his day, he still had the raw talent to do what few compatriots could. Continue reading...
Vatican upholds excommunication of US deacon who resigned after son was molested by priest
Scott Peyton joined the Anglicans after the crime against his son. Then the Catholic church officially expelled him The Roman Catholic church has upheld the excommunication of a Louisiana deacon who resigned from the clergy after a priest molested his son. Scott Peyton learned of the decision by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) – the Vatican entity in charge of Catholic clerical discipline – on Friday in a meeting with the bishop of the diocese of Lafayette, J Douglas Deshotel. The DDF cited technical grounds in rejecting Peyton’s appeal, saying he had joined an Anglican congregation, “published [that] fact … on social media” and therefore refused to submit to the Catholic pope, who since May 2025 has been Leo XIV . Continue reading...
Kawhi Leonard: a hero’s complicated return to the Toronto Raptors
The reunion between one of the best players of his generation and the team he helped make an NBA champion is an opportunity to change narratives When Kawhi Leonard became a Toronto Raptor for the first time in the summer of 2018, he looked shellshocked. “There’s just more questions you have to ask me in order for me to tell you about myself,” he said, introducing himself to an organization and city he reportedly had no interest in joining. Leonard had fallen out with his former team, the San Antonio Spurs – one of the most respected franchises in professional sports – due to differences in opinion about an injury that had limited him to just nine games in the 2017-18 season. The Los Angeles native had hoped to end up in southern California, but instead the Raptors risked it all by swapping franchise cornerstone DeMar DeRozan for one year of an injured, malcontent Leonard. It worked: Leonard led the Raptors to their maiden championship on the back of a historic playoff run, averaging 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.7 steals en route. Leonard won his second finals MVP to go alongside the one he had claimed with the Spurs when he helped them to the title in 2014. Continue reading...
Burnham pledges ‘big changes’ to the way the welfare system works to tackle Neets crisis – UK politics live
Prime minister’s comments come as children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza highlights ‘staggering’ inequalities in young people’s treatment across UK Good morning. Children and young people are at the top of the agenda today, with the publication of a hard-hitting report from Dame Rachel de Souza , the children’s commissioner for England, and a Times article by Andy Burnham . They are focusing on slightly different cohorts – Burnham is writing about young people who leave school and enter the benefits system, while the de Souza reports covers the experiences of young children in multiple aspects of their lives – but their overall message is the same: the younger generation is being let down. De Souza has studied more than 160 datasets to examine how what happens to children as they grow up varies across England and she says the variation is “staggering”. In her report, The Childhood Lottery , she explains: In four local authorities, the total amount spent on youth services per teenager is the princely sum of £0, £421 less than in the highest spending local authority. Some areas of the country are sending nearly 90% of their looked after children to out-of-area placements, compared to the almost 20% in the areas making least use of these – although given this means being away from family ties, and friends, that is still worryingly high. But what stands out is not merely these differences, but how much work there is to do to deliver a happy, healthy childhood in every postcode. I have made the difficult decision to highlight the 20 places where it is hardest to grow up. I want to be clear that this is not a review of the local authority, this is an assessment based on a wide range of measures looking at the challenges faced, the full range of services available and the outcomes we see. The data pulled together in the Childhood Lottery highlights the scale of challenges faced by children across all areas of the country and all areas of their lives. For example that: -Over 1 million children (1,048,965) had active referrals to children and young people’s mental health services in 2024-25.1 There is no shortage of people lining up to take a swing at the next generation but, if we are honest, the blame for this failure lies with politicians. At the very moment growing up became harder, the support young people relied on was stripped away. Youth services were practically abolished. Children’s mental health services were cut. Families were left to fight for support for children with special educational needs and disabilities. The pandemic stole two years, and social media is too often taking something much deeper: their confidence and sense of belonging. Add an education system focused on the university route and a job market offering too few opportunities, and we should not be surprised that so many are shut out. Today, the welfare system provides an assessment, a payment and, after that, a goodbye. Too often there is no support, no offer of skills and no opportunity to get a job … This will be our offer: a clear guarantee of support. But it will also be matched by an expectation that young people will take up the opportunities made available to them. This will mean big changes to the way our welfare system operates. Benefits will become the backstop, not the starting point. The system will no longer begin by establishing which benefits a young person is entitled to. It will begin with their ambitions and the help they need to achieve them. Continue reading...
Helen Haines updates: Independent MP injured in incident outside regional Victoria office
The independent MP Helen Haines has been injured in an incident involving a vehicle outside of her electorate office in Wangaratta, in regional Victoria . Follow updates Nationals frontbencher Michael McCormack , whose electorate shares a border with Haines’ has written on social media: Sending my love and best wishes to Helen Haines for a full and speedy recovery. Such awful news. Continue reading...
Independent MP Helen Haines injured in incident outside Wangaratta office in regional Victoria
Emergency services were called to the scene in Wangaratta on Monday afternoon The independent MP Helen Haines has been injured in an incident involving a vehicle outside of her electorate office in Wangaratta, in regional Victoria. Emergency services were called to Murphy Street on Monday afternoon. Continue reading...
Macron refuses minister’s resignation after huge protests rock France – Europe live
Interior minister Laurent Nuñez should stay to ensure chain of command with police and security forces, says president Macron criticises ‘unbridled violence’ after 2,400 arrests across France French president Emmanuel Macron has declined interior minister Laurent Nuñez’s offer to resign after widespread riots over the weekend, despite “failures in anticipation and intelligence” that were deemed to worsen the crisis engulfing the country. Macron said Nuñez should stay to ensure a chain of command is retained within the police and security forces, and has also asked Nuñez to set up as quickly as possible new approaches to deal with looters, the Élysée Palace added, quoted by Reuters. Continue reading...
Mother assessed as posing no immediate risk to others three weeks before Elizabeth Struhs’ manslaughter, inquest hears
Queensland correctional services officer did not have access to details of Kerrie Struhs’ past offending which included child neglect Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Elizabeth Struhs’ mother, Kerrie, was assessed by correctional services as being of no immediate risk to others by an officer who had no access to her offending history, three weeks before she and others caused her eight-year-old daughter to die, a Brisbane inquest has heard. Kerrie Struhs was sentenced to five months’ jail for child neglect after failing to take Elizabeth to hospital to treat her type 1 diabetes in 2019. Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard has previously heard that Elizabeth was so unwell when she presented at hospital that she was nearly dead, and was in a coma. Continue reading...
France hit by debt sell-off as protests unnerve investors
After Macron condemned ‘unbridled violence’, difference between French and German 10-year borrowing costs widens Business live – latest updates France was hit by a fresh wave of selling in its bond and stock markets on Monday after violent protests over the weekend left public buildings burned, hundreds of shops looted and thousands of arrests across the country. Almost 2,400 people have been arrested in France, the interior ministry said on Sunday, with police deploying teargas in confrontations with protesters . Continue reading...
Kings Cross strip club owner fails to overturn ban on entering his own ‘high-risk’ venues
NSW tribunal upholds liquor authority’s decision preventing Manthos Papadopoulos from entering Sydney Elements and Showgirls A Sydney strip club owner has failed in a bid to overturn a ban on entering venues – including his own businesses – in the nightlife precinct of Kings Cross. Manthos Papadopoulos, the owner of Sydney Elements and Showgirls, was banned by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority in July after a request from New South Wales police, the NSW civil and administrative tribunal said in a decision published on Monday. Continue reading...
UK government promises disabled air passengers better safeguards
Despite recent progress, almost a fifth of air travellers with disabilities are still dissatisfied with their experience Disabled passengers will have better safeguards when flying, the government has pledged, including protection from damaged wheelchairs and support from trained staff. A report from an industry-led accessibility group said there was “much more to be done” but progress was being made, a year after a review led by Tanni Grey-Thompson demanded action to improve air travel in response to numerous incidents in which passengers had been left stranded without assistance. Continue reading...
Seabird numbers bounce back in Solent region after 2022 avian flu wipeout
Conservation work by RSPB has led to recovery of terns, gulls, plovers and oystercatchers on England’s south coast The colony of sandwich terns nesting at Pagham harbour, West Sussex, was completely wiped out by bird flu in 2022. But numbers have bounced back from zero to 756 breeding pairs in just three years after conservation work in the Solent. Continue reading...
Monday briefing: What you need to know about a weekend of ‘chaos’ in France
In today’s newsletter: Violent riots and looting have dominated the headlines, but the unrest gripping the country and beyond reflects deeper public anger over everyday issues Good morning. I bet your weekend was better than Emmanuel Macron’s. On Friday, the evening before mass protests that were planned across France, he attended a Céline Dion concert in Paris with his wife, Brigitte, prompting comparisons to Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette. On Sunday evening, he was forced to give a televised speech condemning the “unbridled violence” and riots that erupted in French cities over the weekend. The rioters that burned makeshift barricades of bicycles in Paris, destroyed the steeple of Limoges’ town hall and set fire to Lyon’s tourism office were described as “LE CHAOS” on the front page of La Tribune Dimanche, and “SCENES D’INSURRECTION” on Le Parisien Dimanche. By Sunday, protests had also taken place in Spain, Portugal and Italy. The Vatican | Pope Leo told a crowd gathered in St Peter’s Square on Sunday that he would “gradually resume” his activities, at his first appearance before the faithful since undergoing an operation to remove a cancerous tumour from his lung. UK news | A “well-known individual” is trying to secure a permanent injunction against the Guardian and ITN to prevent them from publishing details of serious allegations made against him. US politics | Donald Trump fired his immediately embattled new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, on Friday evening after just five days in the job. The conservative commentator becomes the shortest serving occupant of the role in US history. Reform | A Reform UK mayor is under police investigation for allegedly showing “naked and sexualised” images of himself to a female member of staff. Luke Campbell, a former Olympic boxing champion, is understood to have been questioned under caution by Humberside police. Energy | The development of a huge AI datacentre hailed by the UK government has received a fresh setback after Microsoft pulled out of the project over concerns about power supplies. Monday | The two-week biodiversity summit, Cop17, begins in Yerevan, Armenia, as countries come together to seek to protect nature. Tuesday | The Covid-19 inquiry publishes its report on the adult social care sector. Sunday | Incumbent Lula da Silva takes on Flavio Bolsonaro in the run-off of the Brazil general election. Continue reading...
‘This is not poker’: Alberta goes to polls in referendum that has exposed divisions, not least among separatists
Voters to be asked whether province should remain part of Canada or hold second binding independence vote Albertans are going to the polls to decide their place in Canada, in a referendum that has exposed deep divisions within the province, not least in the separatist movement itself. On Monday, voters will respond to the question of whether Alberta should remain in Canada, or hold a second binding independence referendum. Continue reading...
From politicians on TikTok to fetching a ping-pong ball: Edith Pritchett’s week in Venn diagrams – cartoon
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Burnham urged to launch inquiry into unequal health impacts of air pollution
Letter from 150 scientists, MPs and activists calls for action to protect lower-income and minority-ethnic communities The government must hold an inquiry into the unequal impacts of air pollution, 150 scientists, MPs and activists have urged. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that across England, lower-income areas have persistently higher levels of air pollution than wealthier areas. Continue reading...
Tap water no longer drinkable in Norwegian town as climate-related thawing releases heavy metals
Warning for other Arctic communities as residents told not to use water in Longyearbyen in Svalbard, one of the fastest-warming places in the world Residents of a remote town in Norway that is in one of the fastest-warming places in the world have been told they must no longer drink tap water due to heavy metal contamination that scientists have linked to the thawing permafrost. Longyearbyen, in the archipelago of Svalbard , gets its main drinking water supply from a 1.5 mile-long (2.5km) dammed lake called Isdammen, or “ice pond”. Higher temperatures as a result of the climate crisis have thawed permafrost, leading to newly exposed bedrock leaching metals into the pond. Continue reading...