The Guardian

Average property cost £298,468 in August, down by 0.4% year on year owing to interest rates and uncertainty Business live – latest updates UK house prices have fallen for the first time in almost three years, as prospective buyers were squeezed by higher mortgage rates, geopolitical uncertainty and stretched affordability. Prices have dropped by 0.4% compared with a year ago, the first year-on-ye…

Median £42,000 in reserve not enough to cover filming overrun or delay to series, industry body warns Hundreds of small UK TV companies have so little cash in reserve that a filming overrun or a delay to a series could send them bust, an industry body has warned, as programme budget cuts by broadcasters threaten their future. Analysis of the Companies House accounts filings of more than 200 of th…

Plans would see parts of estate converted but campaigners warn it just ‘moves the crisis from one part to another’ Ministers will seriously examine converting parts of the female prison estate into cells that can safely house male prisoners, as the government looks to reduce numbers of women in prison to ease strain on the system. The prisons minister Catherine McKinnell is to look into the pract…

Rightwing NSW powerbrokers are alleged to have received illegal political donations from fugitive developer Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Two Liberal operatives traded photos and messages about whether to buy a Porsche or a Ferrari with payments they received for Toplace projects they got approved via a New Sout…

Review led by Donna Ockenden launches after campaign by families and media investigation into deaths Susan Cacciacarro was almost 37 weeks pregnant with her daughter Chiara when she woke up one morning in 2021, unable to feel her baby kicking. “My belly just didn’t feel right,” she said. “I didn’t feel any movements.” Continue reading...

Row centres on stake held by Patarkatsishvili family in bottled water firm it jointly owns with Russian oligarch A British theatre impresario and her billionaire family are embroiled in a bitter dispute with Ukrainian authorities seeking to seize a water company they jointly own with a Russian oligarch. The row centres on a 34% stake held in the producer of Ukraine’s biggest bottled water brands …

Exclusive: UN special rapporteur on occupied territories says ban on goods from settlements ‘important’ but must go further if it is to amount to more than a ‘press release’ The UK’s planned ban on trade with unlawful Israeli settlements is a welcome, if overdue, first step and must be judged according to its practical impact, a UN expert has told the Guardian. The UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliba…

Firms are more likely to use technology as ‘the intern in the office’ than as a replacement for skilled staff Professional designers should not feel “threatened” by the rapid growth of generative AI, according to business leaders, despite fears over job losses in the sector. With design and film production companies and manufacturers all adopting AI at an accelerating pace, industry bodies said t…

Ashlyn Nassif, daughter of Toplace boss who fled Australia in 2022, has pleaded guilty to providing false or misleading information to obtain loan from Westpac Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The daughter of a fugitive property developer succumbed to pressure from her father when she falsified documents for a $150…

Sydney-headquartered group suspends work on some of its 45 construction sites affecting 60% of workforce Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast More than 200 workers at Sydney-headquartered Bathla Group have been stood down as administrators of the embattled property developer seek emergency funds to stave off a company-…

Lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt welcomes further ‘strong’ cooperation with Musk as French minister says ‘We cannot forget our history’ The candidate who led the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party to a historic state election victory in Germany has thanked Elon Musk for his support, as one French minister warned that this was a “serious moment” for Europe. The AfD more than doubled its su…

Oscar-winning actor says she and other outspoken critics of Israel have found it ‘impossible’ to get hired by major studios The Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon has said she is still losing work because of her outspoken support for Palestinians, despite what she ⁠described as a broader shift ⁠in public opinion against ​US support for Israel. Speaking at the Venice film festival, where she is pr…

Team says armed suspect attacked Amy Acton during a campaign stop at the Canfield Fair, injuring several people Amy Acton, Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, was the target of an attack on Sunday during a campaign stop at the Canfield Fair, campaign officials said. Several people were injured when the armed assailant lunged at Acton. The suspect knocked volunteers to the ground before he was…

Follow the day’s news live Welcome to Monday’s live coverage. Nick Visser will be with you shortly for the day’s news. Let’s begin. Continue reading...

Exclusive: US-controlled weapons corporations and forces have control or access to more than 100 facilities across the continent, which some analysts describe as a ‘colonisation’ of Australia’s military. Find a map of them here US military interests control or have access to more than 100 defence facilities on Australian soil, in what some analysts describe as a “saturation” – even a “colonisatio…