Home Office minister to respond to UQ from Chris Philp about the China spy case before question on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans

There will be two urgent questions in the Commons this afternoon, followed by a statement. Here is the running order.

3.30pm: A Home Office minister will respond to a UQ from Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, about the China spy case.

The family of Virginia Giuffre, whose life was destroyed, are angry and aghast. The public across these isles are angry and aghast and they both deserve to know that some MPs share their outrage.

So I won’t sit silent. If an act of parliament is required to strip the likes of Peter Mandelson and Prince Andrew of their titles then there can be no justification from this Labour government as to why that is not immediately happening.

Public funds, police protection and royal privilege have long buffered Prince Andrew from the consequences of his actions. And we’ve paid for all this.

I will support any efforts to hold royals to the same standards and laws as everyone else – parliament must have the power to remove privileges from abusers of position.

Ukrainian president criticises choice of Budapest as location for meeting as Trump suggests Kyiv must cede land to end war

An investigation into the Lisbon funicular crash will publish its first report today into the causes of the derailment, which killed 16 people in early September.

Portugal’s air and rail accident investigations bureau (GPIAAF) had previously found that a cable linking two cabins disconnected shortly before the September 3 crash, in a note published three days after the tragedy.

Group says it will release body on Monday evening as delay in returning hostage remains causes outrage in Israel and strains ceasefire

The Guardian’s global affairs correspondent, Andrew Roth, has written an interesting profile on Jared Kushner in which he explores his central role in the ceasefire negotiations and his extensive business dealings in the Middle East. Here is a snippet:

The soft-spoken heir to his father’s real estate empire has quietly become a key conduit for Trump’s outreach to the Middle East, leveraging his Rolodex of leaders in the region and positioning himself to win a lucrative windfall if the goal of redeveloping Gaza ever comes to fruition.

It has been a notable return to the political fold after Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, effectively swore off politics after the January 6 riots at the US Capitol that followed Trump’s loss in the 2020 elections.

King Charles cannot have been unaware that the future king would not relish having to deal with his uncle

The Prince of Wales, whom Buckingham Palace has said was “consulted” before Prince Andrew’s dramatic statement, must have felt some relief at his uncle agreeing to relinquish use of his titles and honours.

At some point William will become king. His uncle, 12 years younger than King Charles, may well be watching when he takes his coronation oath. The indications are, however, Andrew may be watching from afar.

The bonuses – awarded during the bank’s three years of misconduct – have been condemned as ‘indefensible’ and ‘tone-deaf’, especially given recent job cuts

The bank charged fees on dead people’s accounts, ignored hardship notices and misled customers. But over those same three years, ANZ bosses were awarded more than $26m in bonuses.

Now, shareholder proxy firms are waiting until December to see whether bonuses will be cut in response to the record $240m in fines given for ANZ’s widespread misconduct.

Victory for Lucy Powell or Bridget Phillipson, the rivals at the centre of the race, could be reckoning for the party

When Lucy Powell got a phone call from a withheld number in her constituency office in Manchester on the day Angela Rayner resigned, Powell told her staff: “This is me getting the sack.” Never would the former Commons leader have believed less than two months later that she might be on the brink of returning as Labour’s deputy leader.

Her rival, Bridget Phillipson, also never expected to be in this position. Hurt by some of the internal briefing against her position as education secretary, she debated for more than a day whether to join the race at all. Being cast as the favoured candidate has not been comfortable.

President has previously posted deepfake videos and AI-generated images like this one, which JD Vance called ‘funny’

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Donald Trump reposted an AI-generated video of him flying a fighter plane emblazoned with the words “King Trump” and dumping brown sludge onto protestors, in what appears to be a retort to the widespread No Kings protests that took place Saturday against his second presidency.

In the video, which the president posted Saturday night, a sharply orange Trump is seen donning a gold crown and manning a plane monikered “King Trump”. The video zooms away from Trump and shows the plane dumping bursts of brown matter on an AI-generated cityscape. A protestor, taking a selfie video, captures the crowd being covered in the brown liquid. The last shot of the 19-second video is of protestors in what appears to be Times Square getting dumped on.

Harley Pearce, 21, who worked in farming and was described as a ‘cherished son and devoted brother’, died at scene in Witcombe

The son of former England football player Stuart Pearce has been named as the victim of a fatal tractor crash in the Cotswolds.

Harley Pearce, 21, died at the scene of the collision on Old Birdlip Hill, A417, in Witcombe, near Gloucester, on 16 October, Gloucestershire police said.

Volunteers defy their government and public opinion in China to risk their lives for an adversary of Beijing’s main geopolitical partner

In a war that has been characterised by merciless attacks on civilians, one of the worst took place on 8 July 2024. Russia missile strikes killed at least 43 people in cities across Ukraine in one of the deadliest days of the war last year. One of the most shocking blows was to the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in central Kyiv, which reduced the country’s largest paediatric clinic to rubble.

Tim, 43, was delivering aid on the outskirts of Kyiv when he heard a missile fly overhead. A short while later, he saw the news on his phone that the children’s hospital had been hit. Along with a British friend, the Chinese national, who asked to be referred to by just his English name, rushed to the scene to help with the recovery efforts. “Seeing the severed limbs, some of them belonging to children, I started crying,” the father-of-two said, tears in his eyes at the memory. “I thought about the kind of anger that Chinese people have. Once it’s ignited … It’s intense. I decided to join the army.”

Image of hunting stand circulated by the Secret Service showed it was in a tree, near president’s Mar-a-Lago estate

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Federal agents are investigating after saying they found a hunting stand within sight of where Donald Trump typically exits Air Force One before a recent trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, by the president.

The US Secret Service said it made the discovery while conducting technological and physical security sweeps around the airport in West Palm Beach, where Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate is, in advance of the president traveling there on Friday.

IDF says attack followed Hamas killing of two soldiers, but both sides say they are committed to ceasefire. Plus, No Kings protesters on their hopes for resistance movement against Trump

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Good morning.

Israel launched waves of lethal airstrikes yesterday and cut off all aid into Gaza “until further notice” after a reported attack by Hamas, in escalations that marked the most serious threat so far to the increasingly fragile ceasefire.

What is the US doing to help maintain the ceasefire? Senior US officials, possibly including the vice-president, JD Vance, are expected to arrive in Israel in the coming days for what observers said was a clear effort to hold the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to the deal signed in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, earlier this month.

What happened in the meeting with Zelenskyy? Ukraine’s president had flown to Washington hoping to capitalise on Trump’s growing frustration with Vladimir Putin after the summit in Alaska failed to produce a breakthrough in the war. But Zelenskyy left the US empty-handed, failing to secure long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles after weeks of lobbying.

A legal saga stemming from a water quality project saw Tom Van Lent briefly jailed in a case brought by allies of DeSantis

An environmental scientist briefly jailed in what he called a “political prosecution” brought by allies of Florida’s rightwing Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, now alleges new evidence shows his jail sentence stemmed from fraudulent allegations.

Tom Van Lent’s claim represents the latest twist in a three-year legal saga ignited by a disagreement over a proposed restoration project that aimed to address Florida’s recurrent red tides and toxic algal blooms by helping restore the environment of the vast Everglades wetlands.

Sight of 84% of people with form of age-related macular degeneration restored after being fitted with device

An electronic eye implant half the thickness of a human hair has helped people with incurable sight loss to see again, opening up a potential “new era” in tackling blindness.

Doctors who implanted the sim card-shaped prosthetic devices say they have helped many of the 38 elderly patients in the trial regain their ability to read letters, numbers and words.

Officials confirm reports that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic party will join forces with rightwing Nippon Ishin

Sanae Takaichi is on course to become Japan’s first female prime minister this week after her party agreed to form a new coalition with a minor party.

Officials confirmed on Monday that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic party (LDP) had joined forces with the rightwing Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation party), which shares her hawkish stance on China and support for restrictions on immigration.

Tens of thousands evacuated amid significant damage from intense rainfall and storm surge

Eight people have died and 27,000 have been evacuated after Tropical Storm Fengshen hit the Philippines during the weekend. Fengshen made landfall from the western Pacific Ocean near the municipality of Gubat on the southern tip of the island of Luzon, and while it remains on the weaker side in terms of sustained winds, the intense rainfall and a storm surge have caused significant damage across the region.

Anticipated waves of 2 metres (6ft) led the Philippines weather bureau, Pagasa, to issue a risk warning of moderate coastal flooding for the region. Twenty-seven thousand people were evacuated from the Albay province because of these warnings and moved to a safer area further inland. Despite the precautionary measures, five people died when a tree fell on to a house near Pitogo on Sunday morning.

GDP rises by 4.8% year on year between July and September, down from second-quarter growth rate of 5.2%

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China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in a year in the latest quarter amid a trade war with the US and long-running woes in its property market.

Fragile domestic demand has left China’s economy heavily reliant on manufacturing and trade, at a time of mounting tensions with the Donald Trump administration.

The actor has renewed his vocal opposition to the US president and spoken in support of the millions-strong ‘No Kings’ street protests

Robert De Niro has renewed his vocal opposition to Donald Trump, saying “there’s no other way to face a bully”.

The actor spoke to MSNBC on Sunday in support of the anti-Trump “No Kings” protests, which saw millions take to the streets across the US. De Niro said there needed to be “much more” resistance, adding: “The politicians are going to recognise that: either face the wrath of Trump or the wrath of the people – and they have to be more afraid of the wrath of the people.”

Protests have been banned and opposition figures sidelined as 83-year-old president ignores calls to step down

“This is worth several more terms,” the Ivorian president, Alassane Ouattara, joked while opening a bridge named after him in the country’s commercial capital, Abidjan, in 2023.

The appearance in recent years of several new bridges in west Africa’s second most populous city has been hailed by the president’s supporters as symbolic of an era of modernity and stable leadership under his watch.

High-profile lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC is representing the Central Land Council boss in the case against NT senator

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Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price plotted with a school principal to oust the chief executive of an Aboriginal land council she defamed in a media release, a court has been told.

The senator is fighting a claim by Central Land Council chief executive Lesley Turner that she defamed him in a July 2024 release.

Defence secretary will announce measures to combat threat of unmanned aircraft after incursions in Europe

Soldiers are to be given new powers to shoot down unidentified drones believed to be threatening UK military bases in response to a recent spate of incursions and sightings in Europe.

John Healey, the defence secretary, will announce the measure at a speech in the City of London on Monday, in which he will also warn of an increased level of Russian drone attacks into Ukraine and eastern Europe.

New chief executive Luca de Meo aims to bring down debt burden and refocus on core fashion business

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The Gucci owner, Kering, is selling its beauty division to L’Oréal for €4bn (£3.5bn), as its new chief executive, Luca de Meo, seeks to turn around the French luxury company.

The deal will give the French beauty group L’Oréal Kering’s fragrance line Creed, which was founded in 1760. The deal also includes rights to develop fragrance and beauty products under Kering’s fashion labels Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga under a 50-year exclusive licence.

Justice minister says ‘we have failed’ after thieves take seven minutes to steal priceless jewels from museum

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The French government is under increasing pressure over museum security as police continue to search for thieves who took seven minutes to steal priceless jewels from the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum.

“What is certain is that we have failed, since people were able to park a furniture hoist in the middle of Paris, get people up it in several minutes to grab priceless jewels, and give France a terrible image,” the justice minister, Gérald Darmanin, told France Inter radio on Monday.

Authorities say plane collided with patrol vehicle, taking it with it as it ditched in sea

Two people were killed in Hong Kong after a cargo plane hit a ground vehicle while trying to land and skidded off the runway into the sea.

The Emirates flight had flown in to Hong Kong international airport from Dubai at about 4am on Monday when it veered off the runway and crashed through a fence, according to airport officials. It then collided with the security patrol car, taking the vehicle with it as it ditched into the sea.

Meeting called for end of sitting week inviting backbench MPs to argue for or against dumping the policy after Barnaby Joyce announced resignation

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Coalition backbenchers are preparing for a showdown on net zero as pressure mounts on Sussan Ley’s opposition to resolve its position, with speculation more MPs could join Barnaby Joyce in quitting if the policy isn’t dumped.

Liberal and Nationals MPs have been invited to remain in Canberra after the upcoming sitting week for a three-hour, closed-door debate on energy policy, including net zero by 2050.

Chief statistician David Gruen says bureau did not censor anyone and is ‘trying to take the side of truth’ after misuse of overseas arrivals figures

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Australia’s chief statistician, David Gruen, has defended the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ recent public debunking of far-right claims of “mass migration”, as he said the independent agency “stands ready to respond” to “egregious misrepresentations” of its data.

The biennial World Stats Day on 20 October comes amid a rising tide of mis- and disinformation around the world that has propelled often anonymous statistical bodies and their officials into the public eye.

Victorian premier insists city is safe and police have necessary powers after two officers hospitalised on Sunday

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Jacinta Allan has blamed a “very small number” of counter-protesters for violent scenes in Melbourne’s CBD, insisting the city is safe and police have the powers they need to maintain order.

The Victorian premier’s comments come after two officers were hospitalised as police spent hours trying to seperate an anti-immigration rally, organised by March for Australia, from a counter anti-racism protest, dubbed “United Against Racism: Migrants and Refugees Are Welcome”, in the CBD on Sunday.

In today’s newsletter: Trump’s stance on the war continues to oscillate while Zelenskyy’s infantry face gruelling stints at the ‘zero line’ amid increasingly lethal Russian attacks

Good morning. It looked, for a moment, as if Donald Trump had finally taken a clear side in the war between Russia and Ukraine: with hints that he might be ready to provide Tomahawk missiles, and a vaunted White House meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, some observers thought he was on the brink of rowing in behind Ukraine in a decisive way.

Then he got on the phone with Vladimir Putin, and agreed to a face-to-face meeting within the next two weeks. And, after the White House meeting on Friday, Trump downplayed the idea that the missiles would be provided. Later reports suggested that the meeting was a “shouting match” in which Trump echoed Russian talking points and added: “If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you.”

Israel-Gaza war | Israel launched waves of lethal airstrikes on Sunday and cut off all aid into Gaza “until further notice” after a reported attack by Hamas, in escalations that marked the most serious threat so far to the increasingly fragile ceasefire. Israel later said that it had “begun the renewed enforcement of the ceasefire”.

Royals | The Metropolitan police are looking into claims that Prince Andrew asked his taxpayer-funded close protection officer to uncover information about Virginia Giuffre hours before the emergence of a bombshell picture of them together. The news follows Friday’s announcement that Andrew had relinquished his royal titles.

China-UK relations | Approving a Chinese super-embassy in east London could be unlawful if ministers gave Beijing assurances about the project in advance, a top planning lawyer has concluded. The news came as the government denied any political interference in the decision to drop charges against two men accused of spying for China.

France | French police are hunting four thieves who carried out a highly professional daylight robbery on the Louvre, breaking into one of the museum’s most ornate rooms and escaping with eight pieces of “priceless” historic jewellery, including a necklace given by Napoleon to his wife.

Reform UK | The leader of Reform UK’s flagship local authority has told councillors that she has launched a hunt for the “cowards” who leaked a recorded meeting in which she said those who disagreed with decisions would have to “fucking suck it up”. Bitter divisions among Reform members of Kent county council were laid bare at the weekend by the Guardian.

Sunday’s election marked the first time since 2005 that no candidate from Evo Morales’ Mas party was on the ballot

Centre-right senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, 58, won Bolivia’s presidential runoff on Sunday and will be the country’s next president, marking a shift to the right after nearly 20 years of dominance by the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party.

With just over 97% of ballots counted in the electoral court’s “preliminary” tally, Paz Pereira secured 54.6% of the vote, while rightwing former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga received 45.4%.

IDF says attack followed Hamas forces killing two soldiers, but both sides say they are committed to ceasefire

Israel launched waves of lethal airstrikes on Sunday and cut off all aid into Gaza “until further notice” after a reported attack by Hamas, in escalations that marked the most serious threat so far to the increasingly fragile ceasefire in the devastated territory.

Two Israeli soldiers, including an officer, were killed in the Hamas attack. Palestinian officials said dozens died in the retaliatory airstrikes.

This blog is now closed. See our latest full report here:

• Scramble to shore up ceasefire as Israel hits Gaza with deadly raids

Freed Israeli hostage David Cunio received a hero’s welcome in the city of Yavne, where residents lined the streets waving Israeli and American flags as he was driven from hospital to rejoin his family, The Times of Israel reports.

Cunio, who was abducted from kibbutz Nir Oz with his family during the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack, leaned out of the car window to shake hands and thank supporters as music played and people applauded.

Trump vows to cut US funding as Pete Hegseth says US hit Colombian rebel group vessel and ‘three terrorists killed’

Donald Trump on Sunday accused Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, of being an “illegal drug dealer” and threatened to immediately cut US funding to the country, as a Republican senator said the US would soon announce “major tariffs” on the country.

It comes after the US defense secretary confirmed in a social media post an attack on a vessel associated with a Colombian leftist rebel group. Pete Hegseth said “three terrorists were killed” in the operation, which was “conducted in international waters”.

Wave of Israeli airstrikes leaves nine-day truce teetering as residents recall previous dashed peace hopes

For two years, Ismail Baba had dreamed of a ceasefire. The father of four had been displaced 11 times during the war in Gaza and was struggling to find adequate food for his children amid a worsening hunger crisis.

When a ceasefire was announced last week, Baba thought he could finally relax. Though his home was still plagued by chaos, at least he knew his family would not be struck by an Israeli bomb.

The fleeting peace, however, was shattered on Sunday morning by a wave of Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, after Israel claimed Hamas militants targeted its troops in southern Gaza.

Trump’s 20-point plan is forcing regional rivals to set aside differences and collaborate after years of competition

If the war in Gaza had dramatic consequences across the Middle East, overturning long-held assumptions, resetting the geopolitical map and provoking massive shifts in public opinion, any durable peace is likely to have equally momentous effects.

Some counsel caution.

Jury says documentary about killing of Argentinian campaigner Javier Chocobar brings ‘a measure of the justice’ denied by the courts

A documentary about the murder of the Indigenous activist Javier Chocobar has taken the top prize at the London film festival, with the jury calling it “a measure of the justice” that has long been denied by the courts.

The Argentine film-maker Lucrecia Martel’s first documentary, Landmarks, won the best film award in the festival’s official competition, it was announced on Sunday.

End of almost two decades of leftist rule could revive ‘war on drugs’ in change of approach to coca cultivation

Bolivians go to the polls on Sunday in an election that, whatever the result, will mark a complete shift to the right after nearly 20 years under the rule of the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas).

The country’s first-ever presidential runoff pits the centre-right senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, 58, who won the first round in August, against the rightwing former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, 65, who in recent weeks has overtaken Paz Pereira in the polls.

Releasing them from US custody evades thorny legal issues regarding military detention of suspected drug smugglers

The Trump administration is moving to send the two survivors of Thursday’s strike in the Caribbean overseas rather than seek long-term military detention for them, four US officials and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Saturday.

The source, who like the US officials spoke on condition of anonymity, said the survivors were being sent to Colombia and Ecuador.

Thousands gather in Nairobi to pay respects to veteran opposition leader, prompting chaotic scenes at stadium

Four people have been killed in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, after security forces fired shots and teargas to disperse huge crowds at a stadium where the body of the opposition leader Raila Odinga was lying in state.

Odinga, a major figure in Kenyan politics for decades who was once a political prisoner and ran unsuccessfully for president five times, died on Wednesday aged 80 in India, where he had been receiving medical treatment.

The US president claimed Modi had assured him of deal, but Indian officials insist no such conversation took place

India has cast doubt on claims by Donald Trump that its prime minister, Narendra Modi, had agreed to stop buying Russian oil.

On Wednesday, Trump claimed that Modi had assured him “today” that India would put an end to its purchase of Russian oil.

Kanchha Sherpa was part of expedition that put Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary atop world’s highest peak in 1953

Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the mountaineering expedition team that first conquered Mount Everest, has died at the age of 92, according to the Nepal Mountaineering Association.

Kanchha died early on Thursday at his home in Kapan, Kathmandu district, said Phur Gelje Sherpa, the association’s president.

Indian-American Ashley Tellis allegedly obtained US military data and passed envelopes to Chinese officials

A prominent Indian-American academic and former US government adviser has been arrested and charged with the unlawful retention of national security information, including thousands of pages of top secret documents that were found at his home in Virginia.

Ashley Tellis, 64, who served on the national security council of the former US president George W Bush and is credited for helping to negotiate the US-India nuclear deal, was arrested and charged over the weekend.

Esther Njoki says family has seen ‘big change’ under Labour, after long fight for justice over aunt’s 2012 death in Kenya

The niece of Agnes Wanjiru, who was killed in Kenya, said she hopes the former British soldier charged with her aunt’s murder will be extradited while the Labour government is still in power.

On her first trip outside Kenya, Esther Njoki travelled to London, where she was invited to parliament to meet the defence secretary, John Healey, whom she urged not to delay the potentially years-long extradition process.

Army assumed power after parliament voted to impeach Andry Rajoelina following widespread protests

Madagascar’s new military ruler will be sworn in as the country’s president on Friday, the military said on Wednesday, as the African Union suspended the island nation after a coup that ousted President Andry Rajoelina.

The Indian Ocean nation has been plunged into its worst political upheaval in years after the elite Capsat army unit assumed power on Tuesday, moments after parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina, who appeared to have fled the country as street protests escalated.

Two sides declare ceasefire after Islamabad carries out retaliatory strikes on Kabul and Kandahar province

Dozens of soldiers and civilians have been killed after fresh clashes broke out along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and Islamabad carried out retaliatory airstrikes on the Afghan capital, Kabul, and Kandahar province.

The two sides declared a ceasefire by Wednesday night after the latest outbreak of violence, which came after the deadliest cross-border clashes in years over the weekend.

Odinga, who ran five times for presidency and had profound influence on Kenyan politics, has died in India

The veteran Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, who ran five times for the presidency and had a profound influence on the country’s politics, has died aged 80 in India.

Odinga was in the southern city of Kochi for treatment. The Press Trust of India news agency reported that he had a cardiac arrest during a morning walk.

Keir Starmer is considering Aadhaar as model for UK, but detractors warn of ‘digital coercion’ and security breaches

It is often difficult for people in India to remember life before Aadhaar. The digital biometric ID, allegedly available for every Indian citizen, was only introduced 15 years ago but its presence in daily life is ubiquitous.

Indians now need an Aadhaar number to buy a house, get a job, open a bank account, pay their tax, receive benefits, buy a car, get a sim card, book priority train tickets and admit children into school. Babies can be given Aadhaar numbers almost immediately after they are born. While it is not mandatory, not having Aadhaar de facto means the state does not recognise you exist, digital rights activists say.