Between Negotiation and Threats

• Nearly 130 heads of state are meeting at the United Nations as the organization struggles to maintain its relevance amid global political strain. • The assembly follows a period of tension with the United States, where Donald Trump slashed financial contributions and withdrew from dozens of UN bodies.

• Iranian Speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf stated that the old United States-led global order has collapsed and called for Islamic nations to implement a new one. • Ghalibaf noted that Tehran's specific messages and conditions regarding this shift were explicitly conveyed to the U.S. through intermediaries.

• Global leaders are meeting in New York this week for the UN General Assembly to discuss the Middle East crisis, the war in Ukraine, and artificial intelligence risks. • President Donald Trump will address the assembly, while Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend the event.

• World leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly to address escalating conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East alongside risks from artificial intelligence. • The assembly focused on managing global instability and the regulatory challenges posed by emerging AI technologies.

The queer period drama wins Oscar-predicting award, being named the most popular audience film at the festivalSpanish queer drama La Bola Negra has won this year’s people’s choice award at the Toronto film festival.The film, which takes place in 1932, 1937 and 2017, focuses on the lives of interconnected gay men. It premiered at this year’s Cannes film festival with the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling it “handsomely produced, lovingly detailed and confidently constructed” in a four-star review. Continue reading...

Ed Davey’s party made a series of proposals as concern grows among members that voters don’t know what its policies are or what it stands forThe Liberal Democrats have used their conference to unveil a £2bn plan to cut fuel duty, part of a series of policy proposals intended to tackle worries that not enough voters know what Ed Davey’s party stands for.The proposal to cut fuel duty by 10p a litre for a fixed three-month period came as polling showed Lib Dem policies are less well known than those of Restore Britain, which only launched as a political party in February and has one MP – Rupert Lowe – to their 71. Continue reading...

Wife of former PM takes part in designer Edeline Lee’s show inspired by the Greek myth of SisyphusVictoria Starmer has taken part in a London fashion week show, in one of her first public appearances since her husband, Keir Starmer, stepped down as prime minister.Lady Starmer appeared at Sunday’s Edeline Lee show. The London-based, Canadian British designer’s clothes are a favourite of the Princess of Wales, and have also been worn by celebrities including singer Taylor Swift and actor and screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Continue reading...

Exclusive: James Ashby also drives new Ford Ranger given to party and is main pilot of plane donated by Gina Rinehart, which he says are not for personal useGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastPauline Hanson’s right-hand man, James Ashby, is enjoying generous benefits as a result of his role working for One Nation, with documents showing that a company linked to the party built a $56,000 shed on his central Queensland property.Guardian Australia understands that Ashby, formerly Hanson’s chief of staff and now the party’s national director, also drives a new Ford Ranger that was “personally” gifted to One Nation by Hancock Agriculture’s chief executive, Adam Giles, in April. Hanson said the vehicle would help the party’s campaign efforts and “provides us the presence we need in the lead-up to the next federal election”.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...

Exclusive: Stark health inequalities in terms of deaths before age of 75, NHS data revealsAdults with severe mental illness are nearly five times more likely than their peers to die from serious physical diseases before the age of 75, according to research.The analysis of NHS data by the Rethink Mental Illness charity reveals that people with severe mental health problems die 15-20 years earlier than the wider adult population, largely due to preventable physical conditions. Continue reading...

Action against Ofcom comes as social media companies are being accused of using courts to slow down implementationMeta has launched a fresh legal challenge against Britain’s media regulator in the latest of a slew of actions by social media companies who are accused of using the courts to slow down implementation of the Online Safety Act.Lawyers for the parent company of Facebook served notice during the week in an appeal against placing WhatsApp and Instagram, which are also owned by Meta, in a category that subjects them to additional duties. Continue reading...

People are increasingly crossing paths with the wild animals as homes ring the outskirts of forests, sparking a new era of coexistenceEvery year, as summer draws to a close and fall begins, California’s bears get hungry.Black bears have long roamed the state, hunting for acorns, ants and pine nuts by the bucketload to pack on calories before hibernation. But increasingly, for every berry and root, there’s an even greater temptation: our trash and the detritus of human existence. Continue reading...

US president on Truth Social claims his new plan for the 250ft arch comes at the ‘strong request’ of the US militaryDonald Trump is proferring a new argument for building his triumphal arch in Washington DC: it will be converted into a “top grade military complex” replete with drone and ammunition storage space and customised sniper facilities on the roof and plaza.In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning, Trump claimed that his new plan came at the “strong request” of the US military. He said the 250ft structure would be able to “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage”. Continue reading...