Hot topic: why is Burnham so reluctant to talk about the climate crisis?

• UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher has allocated $5 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to aid Colombia. • The funding is designated to support the humanitarian response following a devastating earthquake that struck the region.

• A declassified Pentagon report reveals that U.S. military operations in Yemen resulted in the deaths of 153 civilians last year. • Tensions rise in the Middle East as firefighters accuse Israeli forces of starting wildfires in Southern Lebanon, while MSF condemns an Israeli blockade of essential supplies as a "policy of attrition."

Second world war paintings and sketches show novelist ‘engaging with her world in a new light’For decades, they lay in a secret room in her attic gathering dust. Now, newly discovered artworks by the Booker prize-winning author Iris Murdoch – including the only self-portrait she is known to have painted, four surrealist landscape paintings and three sketches of female nudes – will go on display for the first time on Friday.The artworks were created at the start of the second world war when Murdoch was a student at Oxford. They expose her early interest in surrealism and fascination with the naked female form. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader beats nearest challenger, Count Binface, in byelection he caused amid deepening scandal over £5m giftClacton byelection – UK politics liveNigel Farage has seen off Count Binface to win the Clacton byelection in a contest boycotted by every other major political party.The Reform UK leader in July triggered the byelection in an attempt to shake off a deepening scandal over a £5m gift he received from the cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. Continue reading...

Most owners would consider installing aircon as heatwaves lead buyers to focus on ability to stay cool, Rightmove saysSearches for homes for sale in the UK with air conditioning have more than doubled this summer as heatwaves push staying cool up the list of priorities for homebuyers, alongside nearness to good schools and transport links.In the week of the UK’s fifth heatwave, in which temperatures in parts of England hit 38C, the property website Rightmove said the heat was influencing how Britons thought about their homes, with more people paying attention to how comfortable a property would be during hotter weather. Continue reading...

From chefs to paramedics, workers tell the Guardian how they are coping and unions outline the changes needed in the workplaceIn the sweltering kitchen of the Plimsoll pub in north London, the head chef, Joshua Swinney, has a frozen tea towel wrapped around his neck to combat the heat.As temperatures exceeded 35C (95F) in the capital, workers who were not lucky enough to be in air-conditioned offices sweltered in the heat. Continue reading...

Evacuation orders issued for 400,000 as torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture as flooding risks remain high despite rainfall easing At least four people died in eastern Japan after “unprecedented” heavy rain that left nearly 7,000 stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport, and forced thousands to take refuge in government buildings.The torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Thursday night, triggering landslide warnings and power outages. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people in Chiba and other areas, and about 45,000 homes lost power, as 115mm of rain fell hourly, approximately the same amount usually recorded for the whole month of August. Continue reading...

Blaze fuelled by hot, dry and windy conditions comes within metres of West Kalimantan rehabilitation centreOrangutans rescued from wildlife traffickers face a new threat from the record number of fires that have broken out in Indonesia in recent weeks.Flames have come within metres of an animal rehabilitation centre in West Kalimantan as hot, dry and windy conditions have been amplified by a powerful El Niño and the human-driven climate crisis. Continue reading...

Interim report calls for carve-up deal that has only benefited Western Australia to be ‘reshaped’ as it has achieved almost none of its objectivesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Productivity Commission (PC) has criticised the controversial GST deal with Western Australia as a costly mistake that should be reversed, saying tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money has since gone to the country’s richest state.An interim report from a PC review of the deal said the reform – requested by WA and implemented under the former Morrison government with Labor’s support – had achieved almost none of its objectives and had made the system less equitable. Continue reading...

Airservices boss says planes remained 1km apart so runway incursion ‘didn’t meet mandatory reporting requirements’ but safety bureau is ‘concerned’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe organisation that manages Australian skies has defended its decision not to immediately report a fresh safety incident at Sydney airport when a Virgin plane aborted its take-off.The chief executive of the commonwealth-owned Airservices Australia, Rob Sharp, said he did not believe the incident met the reporting threshold given the substantial distance between the Virgin plane and a Qantas aircraft crossing the runway in front of it on Sunday. Continue reading...

The Reform UK leader will not be present at vote count in byelection he has tried to frame as the ‘people versus the establishment’Nigel Farage set for decisive but arguably empty victory in ClactonHello and welcome to this special UK politics live blog, where we will be bringing you the result from Nigel Farage’s latest vanity parade. Sorry, I mean the 2026 Clacton byelection.Thousands of residents in the Essex seat voted on Thursday in a ballot featuring Nigel Farage and a range of novelty and fringe candidates led by Count Binface, after all the main political parties (and Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain) decided against fielding candidates. Continue reading...