The Guardian

Chinese president is behind patriarchal turn in politics with activists silenced for ‘promoting gender antagonism’Addressing dignitaries gathered in Beijing on Monday, Xi Jinping praised the “historic achievements” of women’s rights in China. In the past 30 years, the Chinese president said, maternal mortality rates had dropped by nearly 80%, and women were now participating in the project of national governance with “unprecedented confidence and vigour”.Xi was speaking at the global women’s summit, an event on Monday and Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the historic UN’s world conference on women, which took place in Beijing. It was there in

Exclusive: New bill seeks to ban rent processing fees, require landlords to provide proof for bond claims and establish a portable bond schemeFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLandlords and real estate agents will have to provide renters with proof to back up a bond claim and will be banned from charging fees to process rent, under long-awaited legislation to be introduced to Victorian parliament.The premier, Jacinta Allan, and minister for consumer affairs, Nick Staikos, on Wednesday announced the introduction of Labor’s latest rental reforms to parliament, which

Teresa O’Sullivan says surging prison population showed ‘underscores the scale of the issue’. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore on the opposition’s proposed amendments to NSW housing reformsUnder the opposition’s proposed amendments, the Housing Delivery Authority – a body that decides what major projects should be deemed state significant and decided by the planning department – will be subject to a full statutory review. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/oct/15/australia-news-live-liberals-infighting-james-paterson-sussan-ley-andrew-hastie-superannuation-jim-chalmers-ntwnfb Author : Nick Visser Publish date : 2025-10-14 22:02:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Singer known for tracks such as Brown Sugar and Untitled (How Does It Feel) died at home from pancreatic cancerD’Angelo – a life in picturesD’Angelo radically redrew the boundaries of soul musicD’Angelo, the Grammy-winning R&B singer who helped pioneer the sound of neo-soul, has died. He was 51.The singer, born Michael Eugene Archer, died on Tuesday morning at his home in New York after privately suffering from pancreatic cancer, his family confirmed to Variety. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/oct/14/dangelo-dead Author : Adrian Horton Publish date : 2025-10-14 19:33:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Hamas tells mediators it plans to transfer bodies of four deceased hostages at 10pm local timeDespite the ceasefire agreement, a medical source told Palestinian news agency Wafa today that four people were killed when Israeli drones fired at residents inspecting their homes in Gaza’s eastern Shejaiya neighbourhood. We have not yet been able to independently verify this information.Israel’s military said it opened fire on people who it says approached Israeli forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/oct/14/gaza-ceasefire-israel-hamas-palestine-hostages-detainees-truce-live-news-updates Author : Matthew Pearce (now); Tom Ambrose, Yohannes Lowe and Adam Fulton (earlier) Publish date : 2025-10-14

Mike Johnson speaks on federal government shutdown as it enters 14th day with little end in sightChina has hit back at accusations from the US that it is trying to hurt the world economy, as the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies appeared to re-escalate, amped up by aggressive rhetoric on both sides.China’s commerce ministry said on Tuesday that the US was “threatening to intimidate” with the prospect of new tariffs on Chinese exports, “which is not the right way to get along with China”. Its spokesperson said that China would “fight to the end” in trade talks.

PM due to give statement on Middle East and India trip but opposition MPs likely to try to ask about claims of government interference in China case Europe’s most senior human rights official has called on Shabana Mahmood to review UK protest laws after mass arrests over the ban on Palestine Action, Rajeev Syal reports.The Commons authorities have confirmed that there will be two statements in the chamber after 12.30pm: first, Keir Starmer on the Middle East peace summit, and then Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, on the Northern Ireland Troubles bill being published today. Continue reading... Source link

Ukrainian leader expresses hope for progress amid Trump’s Gaza deal, saying ‘it brings more hope for peace in other regions’Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Tuesday it had opened a criminal case against exiled Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, accusing him of creating a “terrorist organisation” and of plotting to violently seize power.According to Reutes, the FSB said it was investigating more than 20 other people as part of the same case, including prominent dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, ex-prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov and leading economists Sergei Aleksashenko and Sergei Guriev. Continue reading... Source link :

UK and French organisations file legal challenge against July agreement to swap asylum seekersFifteen French and UK human rights organisations are calling for the suspension of the controversial “one in, one out” treaty in a legal challenge that has been launched in France.The deal, signed by the UK and France in July, involves one asylum seeker who arrives in the UK from France in a small boat being sent back there in exchange for another selected in France to come to the UK. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/14/human-rights-groups-call-for-france-to-suspend-one-in-one-out-treaty-with-uk Author : Diane Taylor Publish date : 2025-10-14 07:00:00 Copyright for

Homeowners who took advantage of government programmes left with cladding likely to cause dampAlmost all the external insulation fitted under the previous government’s energy efficiency scheme was installed so poorly it will have to be repaired or replaced, an investigation has found.Thousands of homeowners who took advantage of the home insulation schemes have been left with incompetently fitted cladding that in some cases is likely to cause damp and mould. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/14/external-insulation-previous-government-scheme-repair-replacing-report-finds Author : Damien Gayle Publish date : 2025-10-14 04:00:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

As Israel and Palestinian families waited for loved ones to be released, Trump met world leaders to continue ceasefire talks. Will Christou, Dan Boffey and Jason Burke report on an extraordinary day in the Middle EastIt was a day of joy, sorrow and diplomatic drama in the Middle East. Chief reporter Dan Boffey was in “hostages square” in Tel Aviv as the final hostages who were kidnapped on 7 October were released. As news broke out that the first seven hostages were safe, cheers erupted throughout the crowd.Boffey tells Lucy Hough about the final hostages and what their release means

Inflation also hitting sales, says industry body, as Barclays says credit card spending fell in SeptemberUK retail sales growth cooled last month as concerns over inflation and looming tax increases in Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget weighed on British consumers.In a snapshot before the chancellor’s tax and spending event next month, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said total sales rose more slowly in September than in recent months. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/oct/14/uk-retail-sales-growth-budget-tax-rises-barclays Author : Richard Partington Senior economics correspondent Publish date : 2025-10-13 23:02:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Treasurer says he spoke to former PM ‘half a dozen’ times before unveiling changes to his plans for superannuation tax concessions. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChalmers said the changes annouced yesterday are about making more equity in the superannuation scheme. He told RN:What we did yesterday was we wound back some of the generosity of the tax concessions for the biggest balances at the same time as we increase the low-income super tax offset so that young people on low incomes can retire with more money. And this is precisely

Universities, law firms and businesses that have changed course should have stood by convictions, says ex-presidentBarack Obama took aim at institutions and businesses who made deals or worked out settlements with the Trump administration, noting on a new podcast episode: “We all have this capacity, I think, to take a stand.”In a talk with Marc Maron on the comedian’s last edition of his long-running WTF With Marc Maron, the former US president said institutions – including law firms, universities and businesses – that have changed course during the Trump administration should have stood by their convictions. Continue reading... Source link

Department of Health and Human Services rescinds more than half of the 1,300 termination notices it sent, reports sayThe firings of hundreds of employees at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have been reversed, according to several reports citing officials familiar with the matter, and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest union representing federal workers.On Friday, the White House budget office announced that as a result of the ongoing government shutdown, reductions in force (RIFs) across agencies have begun. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/13/firings-cdc-employees-reversed Author : Shrai Popat Publish date : 2025-10-13 15:48:00 Copyright for syndicated

Environmental group accuses king’s property management company of ‘milking for profit’ its monopoly ownership of seabedGreenpeace is threatening to sue King Charles’s property management company, accusing it of exploiting its monopoly ownership of the seabed.The environmental lobby group alleges the crown estate has driven up costs for wind power developers and boosted its own profits, as well as the royal household’s income, due to the “aggressive” way it auctions seabed rights. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/13/greenpeace-threatens-to-sue-crown-estate-for-driving-up-cost-of-offshore-wind Author : Lauren Almeida Publish date : 2025-10-13 13:24:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Reform UK deputy leader says tax cut plans no longer a ‘commitment’ but an ‘aspiration’Keir Starmer has said that he hopes Gaza and Israel are now on “a sustainable path to a long-term peace”. In a statement about the release today of all 20 remaining living hostages that were being held by Hamas, Starmer said:I share the deep feeling of relief as Avinatan Or and other hostages are released today. But this is also a stark reminder of the treatment that he has been subject to at the hands of Hamas, and the atrocities that shook the world two years

Major changes include indexing a super balance to inflation, and addition of a new threshold taking balances between $3m and $10mGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Albanese government has dramatically rewritten its major tax policy, caving in to criticism on its controversial superannuation tax plan by raising thresholds and slashing the amount of money it will rake in.After a long period of sustained attack from politicians and lobby groups, the government has conceded defeat on all major criticisms, with the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, saying the policy rewrites would “better target superannuation concessions”. Continue reading... Source

Senator says her words at Melbourne pro-Gaza rally were ‘a metaphor’ and the reaction to them ‘mock outrage’ that distracts from Palestinian sufferingFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian federal police has said it is investigating whether independent senator Lidia Thorpe’s claim to a pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne that she would “burn down” Parliament House has breached legislation.Thorpe told the rally on Sunday: “We stand with you every day, and we will fight every day, and we will turn up every day, and if I have to

US president is due to arrive in Israel shortly after the expected release of 20 living Israeli hostages by Hamas and Israel’s release of about 2,000 Palestinian detainees. Follow the latest developmentsFull report: Israel expects all 20 living hostages to be freed from Gaza on Monday morningExplainer: As Donald Trump heads to Gaza ‘peace summit’ in Egypt, who is going – and who isn’t?Who are the 20 hostages believed alive and expected to be freed from Gaza?Donald Trump has questioned whether former UK prime minister Tony Blair will serve on a new “board of peace” that is intended to oversee

Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of Australian Rock Art want Murray Watt’s decision to approve extension of gas plant in northern WA overturnedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo groups have filed separate legal challenges to the federal environment minister’s approval of Woodside’s North West Shelf extension, one of the world’s biggest liquified natural gas projects.The Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of Australian Rock Art have commenced federal court proceedings in a bid to have the decision overturned. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/13/legal-challenges-woodside-gas-plant-north-west-shelf-extension-environmental-cultural-grounds Author : Lisa Cox

Airline says Australians should be on guard against fake compensation claims. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastChild injured in Queensland shark attack remains in hospitalA 14-year-old boy injured in a shark attack off Thursday Island in far north Queensland remains in hospital.We will not forget October 7, nor its victims, including members of my own family. We collectively hold our breath, cautiously optimistic that tomorrow our prayers will be answered and our brothers and sisters will be returned home to their families. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/oct/13/australia-news-live-qantas-hack-data-leak-scam-warning-nsw-sydney-potholes-social-media-ban-anika-wells-albanese-sussan-ley-labor-liberal-coalition-ntwnfb Author : Nick Visser

Senior PA leader confirms readiness to work with former UK PM on post-ceasefire recoveryThe former UK prime minister Tony Blair appears to have won the endorsement of the Palestinian Authority to be involved in the reconstruction of Gaza, after an exploratory meeting in Jordan.Blair met Hussein al-Sheikh, the deputy president of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation executive committee, in Amman, Jordan, on Sunday. It was the first such meeting since Donald Trump announced Blair’s role in his 20-point plan. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/12/tony-blair-wins-nod-from-palestine-authority-for-role-in-postwar-gaza Author : Patrick Wintour Diplomatic Editor Publish date :

Former NFL quarterback facing battery chargeFox analyst released from hospital after treatmentFormer NFL star Mark Sanchez says he is “focused on my recovery” after being booked and released from jail over an incident last weekend during which he was stabbed and another man was left with significant injuries.Sanchez was processed at Marion County Jail on Sunday after his release from hospital. A judge ruled Sanchez had to undergo the processing before he is allowed to leave Indiana. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/oct/12/mark-sanchez-nfl-stabbing-incident-hospital Author : Tom Lutz Publish date : 2025-10-12 17:18:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked

Royal sent email after Virginia Giuffre photo emerged but later claimed he had ceased contact with Epstein in 2010Prince Andrew told Jeffrey Epstein in an email “we are in this together” after a picture of the British royal with his arm around a teenage Virginia Giuffre was first published in 2011.The email will pile further pressure on Duke of York and the royal family as he previously told the BBC he had ceased contact with the paedophile financier by that point. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/12/prince-andrew-told-jeffrey-epstein-were-in-this-together-in-2011-email Author : Robert Booth and agencies Publish date : 2025-10-12 14:29:00 Copyright for