Bruce Baird, former federal Liberal MP and NSW minister, dies aged 84

• Iran prepared for an escalation of tensions on October 1, 2026, contributing to a rise in global energy prices. • Brent crude oil prices topped $102 per barrel as geopolitical risks increased.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly pressed for an end to the conflict in Ukraine. • Modi told reporters that both President Putin and President Zelenskyy have spoken with him to share their perspectives on the war.

• Government and business leaders met at the Council on Foreign Relations during the UN General Assembly to discuss global security and financial reform. • Former Ghanaian President John Mahama highlighted the Accra Reset initiative to expand vaccine and medicine production across Africa.

• Renewed fighting has broken out in northern Ethiopia, raising fears that the domestic conflict could expand into a regional confrontation. • The instability threatens to involve neighboring Eritrea, Sudan, and Egypt in a broader crisis.

Celebrity chef has 34 British outlets including the Savoy Grill, Pétrus and several Lucky Cat restaurantsBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK arm of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants empire remained in the red last year despite sales topping £100m for the first time after a string of openings in a London tower.The celebrity chef’s UK business, which has 34 outlets including the Savoy Grill, Pétrus and several Lucky Cat restaurants, narrowed losses to £5.8m from £9.4m the year before. Sales rose 3% to almost £101m. Continue reading...

Party leader says outcome of ‘knife edge’ vote in Keir Starmer’s former seat will not affect his positionZack Polanski has said his authority as leader of the Green party of England and Wales does not depend on winning next week’s Holborn and St Pancras byelection, amid suggestions the party’s popularity may have peaked.Polanski, who is trying to take Keir Starmer’s former seat from Labour, described the contest as “probably 50/50 right now” and “really on a knife edge”. Continue reading...

Failed attempt to execute 50-year-old prompts review of state’s execution practices amid distressing witness accounts. Plus the California woman who is allergic to coldGood morning. Tennessee’s governer has suspended executions as Christa Pike’s lawyer says the state’s failed lethal injection execution attempt has left her in a critical condition. Bill Lee, the Republican state governor, has suspended all executions in the state until at least the end of the year and ordered an independent inquiry.Leading voices on the death penalty in the US have told the Guardian that the failed execution was such a violation of the constitutional prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment” that all judicial killings should be halted nationwide.What have Pike’s lawyers said about her condition? Randy Spivey, one of her attorneys, said: “We don’t have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health at the moment, but we do know that she is alive right now and receiving life-saving medical care. She is in critical condition.”What did witnesses say took place during the execution attempt? Catherine Sweeney, a reporter at the Nashville Public Radio WPLN, said: “They went through two rounds, and she was still breathing at the end. She was very ragged. She lifted her head up and was looking around. At one point, she said … there was a spot that was burning and hurting, and asked if that was normal. None of it was normal.”What was Pike convicted of? She was convicted of the brutal 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, alongside her then boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp. Lee said he had not yet spoken to Slemmer’s family after the failed execution.Why has the DNC issued a lawsuit against the administration? The Trump administration broke the law when it pushed through a last-minute change to the form overseas citizens use to register and request absentee ballots, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) said in a lawsuit filed on Thursday. “Trump and Republicans are so desperate to hang on to power that they are trying to eliminate the way some American citizens abroad register to vote and request mail ballots,” said Ken Martin, the chair of the DNC.Which states are leading the resistance to the Trump EPA’s repeal of emissions rules? Twenty-one states, led by New York, are challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s power plant rule. The New York attorney general, Letitia James, said the federal government was showing “callous disregard” for Americans’ health and the environment, and future generations would pay the price. Power plants that burn fossil fuels are a major source of planet-warming pollution. Continue reading...

Kathy Hochul said she no longer has faith in the local district attorney’s ability to handle the case, which has restarted a national conversation about sexual assault on college campusesSign up for the Breaking News US emailThe governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, has named New York attorney general Letitia James as special prosecutor to investigate an alleged gang-rape at Cornell University in 2024, saying she had lost faith in the local district attorney’s ability to handle the case.Both Hochul and James are due to speak today to provide an update on the investigation following the attorney general’s appointment. Continue reading...

Motorists and small businesses struggle with costs as Iran war drives up cost of oil worldwide‘Half my day’s pay goes to filling up my car’Business live – latest updatesBritish motorists face more pressure at the pumps after the average price of diesel climbed to a record £2 a litre.The price at UK forecourts has risen sharply since late February, when the US-Israel war on Iran began disrupting supplies of crude and refined oil products from the Gulf, leading to cost increases across the economy. Continue reading...

Attack accessing historical data on bushfires occurred in June but not disclosed by the tech company until ThursdayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastArtificial intelligence company OpenAI has disclosed another unauthorised hack on a government department in Australia.In June, an OpenAI agent hacked into a New South Wales state government department and accessed historical non-public data on bushfires without authorisation. Continue reading...

Platform ‘for the curious’ says users outside the UK account for nearly 90% of its revenuesBusiness live – latest updatesFeeld, a UK-based dating app aimed at non-monogamous, queer and kinky users, has reported strong sales growth and paid its founders their largest-ever dividend as it attracts users from more “vanilla” rivals.Revenues jumped by 24% to £64m following a surge in interest from what it called “open-minded people exploring love, desire, and alternative relationships in a safe, inclusive space”. Continue reading...