Hurricane Isaias barrels toward Gulf coast as category 3 storm 09. October 2026 (17:06) Alabama, Florida and Mississippi declare emergencies, as residents prepare for ‘long-duration power outages’Isaias strengthened into a category 3 hurricane on Friday morning as it barreled toward the US Gulf coast, where states of emergency have been declared in Alabama, Florida and Mississippi.The hurricane, the first in the Atlantic in what has turned into a very late 2026 season, is expected to cause a “life-threatening storm surge”, officials said. Isaias is forecast to make landfall on Friday night, somewhere along the Alabama-Florida line with surging seas up to 7ft (2.1 meters) and waves as high as 30ft (9.1 meters). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
China agrees to ‘halve’ hybrid car exports to EU in landmark deal 09. October 2026 (17:05) Brussels says Beijing’s shipments could fall by more than half over four years, cutting millions of vehicles amid fears for European jobsThe EU said it has reached a landmark deal with China to “halve” its sales of hybrid cars in the bloc amid fears surging sales could kill off parts of the European car industry.Trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the deal was the first of its kind and the result of “intense” negotiations with China since June to curb a trade deficit of €1.18bn (£1bn) a day, which has caused mounting tensions between the two economic powers. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
New spate of stabbings, overdoses and fires at Australian immigration detention centres run by ICE-linked US prison firm 09. October 2026 (16:00) Exclusive: Federal government under scrutiny as documents reveal serious security lapses at Melbourne and Villawood immigration detention centresGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA new spate of stabbings, overdoses and drug use in Australia’s immigration detention centres has put the Australian government in likely breach of laws designed to protect staff and detainees, internal documents show.Earlier this year, Guardian Australia revealed catastrophic security failings across Australia’s onshore immigration network since Management and Training Corporation – a US private prison company used by Donald Trump to hold ICE detainees – won the $2.3bn detention contract in late 2024. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pete Hegseth’s plan to livestream execution puts US in dubious company 09. October 2026 (15:55) Only Iran and Afghanistan routinely carry out sentences in public, with Saudi Arabia appearing to have ended practiceUS politics – live updatesIf the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, goes ahead with plans to livestream the execution of a soldier radicalised to extremist Islam who killed 13 people at a military base in Texas, his country will join a motley assembly of lesser powers and rogue actors who have conducted public executions in recent years.Only two countries currently systematically carry out capital sentences in public: Iran and Afghanistan. In 2025, the Taliban authorities carried out six such killings and the regime in Tehran 11, according to Amnesty International. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Democratic Senate candidate responds to anti-trans attacks pushed by Republicans 09. October 2026 (15:50) Dr Annie Andrews voices opposition to ‘biological men … in women’s sports’ in response to Republican attacksDr Annie Andrews, a Democratic Senate candidate in South Carolina, has responded to persistent efforts by Republicans to make trans athletes in women’s sports a wedge issue in the race.In a restrained direct-to-camera statement, Andrews – a pediatrician – outlined her opposition to “biological men playing in women’s sports”, as her party pushes back against Republican attacks. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
EU ‘pulling out all stops’ with minerals projects as it tries to avert China trade war 09. October 2026 (15:31) Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné says bloc will support 46 strategic projects including lithium and rare earths plantsThe EU is “pulling out all the stops” to fend off an imminent potential trade crisis with China, the industry commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, has said, as the bloc announced its backing for a string of critical materials projects.Séjourné said on Friday that the EU would support 46 new strategic projects to accelerate supplies of critical raw materials by 2030 across the bloc. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Robert Jenrick launches scathing broadside against ‘Kensington Kemi’ 09. October 2026 (15:21) Reform UK economics spokesperson seeks to associate Tory leader with metropolitan elite as party relations sour furtherUK politics live – latest updatesRobert Jenrick has launched an extended attack on Kemi Badenoch, calling her part of a metropolitan elite and saying a coalition deal with the Tories would be like being “handcuffed to a zombie”.Reform UK’s economics spokesperson repeatedly called the Tory leader “Kensington Kemi” and claimed her party was for people who moaned about the decline of Mayfair clubs and complained that they could not find Ottolenghi recipe ingredients in the shops. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tory tax break for banks has cost UK public purse £6bn, says TUC 09. October 2026 (15:18) Exclusive: Chancellor urged to reverse Rishi Sunak’s tax surcharge cuts to claw back billions in lost revenueBusiness live – latest updatesTax cuts for big banks have deprived the UK government of £6bn in revenues, according to campaigners, who are calling on the chancellor, John Healey, to increase taxes and force lenders to pay their “fair share” in the budget.Calculations by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which represents unions with more than 5.3 million members across England and Wales, shows that the public purse is billions of pounds worse off as a result of tax cuts introduced under the Tory chancellor Rishi Sunak in 2023. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UN says Pentagon plan to livestream execution of Fort Hood shooter would amount to torture – US politics live 09. October 2026 (14:36) Condemnation comes amid fierce backlash from US lawmakers who branded the move ‘grotesque’ and compared it to actions of some terror groups and oppressive governmentsPentagon says execution of Fort Hood shooter will be livestreamedSign up for the US Breaking News emailWhile there has been bipartisan backlash to Pete Hegseth’s announcement that the Department of Defense plans to livestream Nidal Hasan’s execution in December – some hard-right Republicans have welcomed the news.“Public execution is what this terrorist deserves,” said Andy Ogles, a GOP congressman from Tennessee. “We will be watching.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cop31 host urges wealthy countries to spend ‘much more’ on climate than defence 09. October 2026 (14:00) ‘The climate issue is the security issue,’ says Turkish minister at Pacific pre-Cop summit in FijiWealthy countries should spend far more on dealing with the climate crisis than the 5% of GDP promised by Nato members for defence because “the climate issue is the security issue”, the host of the next UN summit has said.But, in comments that are likely to prove contentious, the Cop31 president-designate, Murat Kurum, hedged on whether countries should try to repeat a previous agreement to “transition away from fossil fuels” – the primary cause of the climate crisis – when they meet in Turkey next month. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
