The Guardian

Finance minister, Roland Lescure, welcomes Burnham’s pledge to explore closer ties with bloc The French finance minister has invited the UK to “come all the way back” to the European Union after Andy Burnham raised the prospect of a new referendum to reverse Brexit. Roland Lescure was speaking after the prime minister used his Labour conference speech to pledge that the government would explore c…

Global bond market sell-off continues and stocks fall amid another wave of potential strikes against Iran Business live – latest updates Oil prices have risen sharply amid fears about escalating tensions in the Middle East and a squeeze on production from the threat of a hurricane off the US coast. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by 3.8% to $104 a barrel on Thursday, triggering a w…

Voters choosing replacement for Keir Starmer, who announced he was standing down last month Good morning and welcome to our UK politics live blog. Polls have opened in Keir Starmer’s old seat in Holborn and St Pancras, where the Green party leader, Zack Polanski, is hoping to break Labour’s longstanding grip in the north London constituency. Continue reading...

Demonstrators have rejected a promise by Sébastien Lecornu to present a plan to fix the country’s education system by the end of the month French education minister Édouard Geffray has invited the three leading high school students associations for further talks at the ministry later this afternoon. This comes as a recent opinion poll showed that the French public broadly supports the protest – w…

Nine out of 10 people felt motivated to act after watching film outlining threats to food security, economy and public health The British government must be honest about the scale of the threat posed by climate and nature breakdown, researchers have said, after nine out of 10 people surveyed after watching a briefing on the issue felt more motivated to act. Last November, in the “first-of-its-kin…

Court hears police attended Wood’s Victorian home over a similar allegation about three years ago, but the woman had not complained then out of ‘fear of retribution’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A woman who was allegedly choked and assaulted by the former Bachelor star Sam Wood told police she “thought she was going to die”, a Queensland court heard on Thursday. Th…

Foreign secretary says former consulate general will remain independent, operational ⁠and serving Palestinian people The foreign secretary, ⁠Ed Miliband, has said Britain’s consulate general ⁠building in ⁠East Jerusalem ​will not be closing but will ⁠be known as a UK mission, remaining independent, operational ⁠and serving Palestinian people. Israel had ​ordered the ‌British consulate ‌in East Je…

Teddy Young, 24, from Bedfordshire, charged with obtaining information to benefit foreign power A member of the Royal Navy has been charged under Britain’s National Security Act with offences including obtaining information to benefit a foreign power. Teddy Young, 24, had arrested at his home address in Bedfordshire on 6 October after an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing London (CTPL). …

Sales rise 2% to £33.8bn in the past six months, helped by strong trade online Business live – latest updates Tesco has raised its annual profit forecast as the supermarket group said consumer confidence has remained relatively resilient this year despite ongoing geopolitical tensions “creating uncertainty”. The UK’s biggest grocer said sales rose just 2% to £33.8bn in the first six months of its…

Police watchdog says Mal Lanyon’s timing in raising the issue was ‘regrettable’ and led to delays Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The New South Wales police commissioner made a last-minute bid to hold hearings into Sydney’s anti-Herzog protest behind closed doors, delaying the inquiry, the police watchdog has revealed. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (Lecc) has…

Exclusive: Thinktank says Britain’s drive towards global commitments is symptom of ‘outdated foreign policy’ The UK’s military is too focused on global commitments at the expense of domestic defence, meaning the government’s planned increase in defence spending is likely to result in even greater waste, a thinktank report has warned. According to an analysis by researchers at the Transition Secur…

In today’s newsletter: A youth-led movement is protesting crumbling school buildings and teacher shortages while turning adult focus onto wider educational inequalities Good morning. In my experience, at any protest, the most memorable and encapsulating slogans are always the ones written by hand with marker pen on cardboard placards. “School is a right, not a privilege,” read one such sign held …

More than half of US students surveyed said the problem damaged their ability to do academic work, study finds Procrastination is the biggest problem that can harm students’ academic performance at university, according to a study of more than 65,000 young people who placed it above issues such as ADHD, anxiety or financial worries. The study found that nearly half of the students surveyed named …

Responding to a Guardian report that revealed thousands of tonnes of fuel was transported to Russia, Seoul said it was investigating the cases South Korea will take legal action if it finds that shipments of fuel from its ports to Russia broke domestic law, the government has said, responding to a Guardian report on the trade . The government, in a statement issued by the foreign and trade minist…

Youngest complainant in trial alleges Jones put his tongue in his mouth and touched him on the bottom during visit to shock jock’s property Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Listen to the podcast Alan Jones on Trial An alleged teenage victim of Alan Jones has denied his family tried to deceive the broadcaster and get as much money out of him as they could during a tense…