The Guardian

Breakdown recovery group’s private equity owners reportedly in talks with various suitors to sell company Germany-based financial services company ⁠Allianz is considering a £5bn takeover swoop for AA, ⁠the breakdown ⁠recovery ​group, Sky News has reported. Allianz is ‌one of a small number of parties holding talks with advisers to the AA about a deal, Sky News said, adding that ‌the private equit…

Exclusive: Research says sector is fixated with young talent, with most women experiencing unconscious bias or sexism Women working in the arts believe they do not have equal opportunities for roles, especially as they get older, according to a report saying that the industry is fixated with “young and emerging” talent. Nearly all (95%) women working in the arts thought gender inequality persiste…

The no camp looks to have prevailed, holding 52.5% of votes with only a few left to be counted, says public broadcaster Iceland appears to have ⁠rejected ⁠the government’s proposal ​to hold ⁠accession talks with ⁠the ​EU, ‌the public ‌broadcaster RUV has ‌reported, with only a small ‌number of votes ​left to count. The no camp had 52.5% of votes and the yes camp 47.5%, with only a few ballots lef…

Critics say changes by CMA will allow multinationals to obscure their ownership of vet practices Pet owners have been warned that they could be unknowingly ripped off by private equity firms who have bought local vet clinics, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) removed requirements for multinational companies to disclose which practices they own. The CMA recently ran an investigatio…

Solomon Islands prime minister cancels his appearance, along with leaders from Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa Several leaders have pulled out of a the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ meeting in Palau at the eleventh hour. Solomon Islands prime minister, Matthew Wale, has cancelled his appearance after a no-confidence motion was lodged against him at home by the Solomon Islands home affairs minister, Mana…

Protester Tess Asplund on the photo that made headlines, and why she sees it as a sign of the change in Sweden today The striking photograph showed a lone Black woman, her fist raised, standing in the path of hundreds of uniformed neo-Nazis on parade in 2016, and it made headlines across the globe. At the time, it was held up as a symbol of the resistance to the far right. But 10 years on, as Swe…

Missing woman’s partner and daughters fundraise to join search in one of the hardest-hit areas of Nepal Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Clair Spry says her sister would hate the attention. She would want it focused on the Nepali people, who have been displaced or are in need of aid. She would want it to be on the …

Conditions are deteriorating in city of El Obeid and camps on its outskirts, with more people arriving every day Humanitarian conditions in the Sudanese city of El Obeid and two camps on its outskirts are dire and deteriorating, according to people on the ground, as civilians displaced by fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia continue to pour in from th…

Checking for sewage spills has become as normal as checking the weather forecast, say swimmers on East Sussex beaches South West Water has worst environmental record in England, analysis shows “I’m furious,” says Jo Armstrong, 75, sitting on Brighton beach with her daughter and granddaughter. Armstrong lives in Lewes, a town 8 miles from Brighton, and usually goes swimming in nearby Seaford in Ea…

Even after a week in which Pauline Hanson and One Nation candidates tripped over themselves trying to explain key policies, voters still backed the party The One Nation hype machine went into overdrive after Saturday’s Secret Harbour byelection but one thing is clear from the thumping victory. Despite the party’s sustained surge in public support, Labor and the Coalition still don’t have any idea…

Andy Burnham says ‘hundreds’ of people will remain in prison as part of changes to scheme designed to ease overcrowding PC Andrew Harper’s killers will be excluded from the early release scheme after the prime minister said anyone convicted of unlawful killing would be exempt. Andy Burnham said “hundreds” of people will remain in prison as part of changes to the scheme designed to ease overcrowdi…

Saga surrounding purchase for outspoken rightwing regional leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso refuses to go away The outspoken rightwing leader of the Madrid region is under growing pressure to explain why her government spent €6.3m (£5.4m) on a residential penthouse purportedly to serve as a temporary workspace while her offices were being renovated. Isabel Díaz Ayuso, a prominent member of Spain’s opposi…

Social services minister says social media was playing a role in the increase of sexual violence among teenagers Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Australian government is considering allowing users to opt in or opt out of social media algorithms, and is looking at a recent UK ban on depictions of strangulation …

Plaskett fire has swept through more than 5,900 acres in Monterey county and remains un-contained, says Cal Fire A fire in California’s Big Sur region doubled in size overnight, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents, in a coastal region where firefighters have battled another blaze for weeks. The Plaskett fire, which sparked on Tuesday, had swept through more than 5,900 acres (2,400 hectares…

‘My heart goes out to all the Nepalese families who are grieving loved ones,’ Cara Severino says. Follow latest updates live Cara Severino , an Australian woman in Nepal who was missing following devastated floods, has been located and is in contact with officials, Penny Wong’s office has confirmed. The foreign minister’s office confirmed overnight Severino was travelling to a safe location with …