Delhi police shut metro stations ahead of election protest march 12. October 2026 (07:51) India’s opposition parties and supporters of the ‘cockroach’ youth movement have been demonstrating against a controversial revision of election voter listsAuthorities in India’s capital closed six metro stations and warned of traffic disruptions on Monday, as opposition parties planned to march to the supreme court in protest against a controversial revision of voter lists that has sparked days of unrest in Delhi.Opposition parties and supporters of the “cockroach” youth movement have taken to the streets almost daily this month to demand the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the revision that critics say benefits prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
IFS: budget will be ‘work of fiction’ without clear plan to cover UK’s £35bn spending pressures 12. October 2026 (07:49) Thinktank’s influential pre-budget report urges key decisions to be made now and not put off until next yearJohn Healey has been warned by Britain’s leading tax and spending experts that his budget risks being a “work of fiction” unless he sets out plans to cover £35bn in spending pressures.As the war in the Middle East rattles the public finances, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the damage from higher inflation meant the chancellor would need to either top up funds for his current government spending plans or impose deep real-terms cuts by the end of the decade. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Burnham to urge MPs to embrace closer ties with EU 12. October 2026 (07:00) Post-recess statement will focus on damage caused by Brexit and the need to cooperate on immigration and tradeAndy Burnham will put Brexit back on the Commons agenda as MPs return from recess, warning that failing to pursue a better deal with the EU would be a “major dereliction of duty”.The prime minister will use a statement to the Commons on the first day back after the party conference break to urge MPs to face up to the damage caused by Brexit, and embrace closer ties with the EU to increase economic growth and tackle illegal immigration. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Melbourne Islamic leader silent on centre’s alleged Flydubai hijacker links in Facebook video 12. October 2026 (06:55) MyCentre leader Samir Mohtadi, who also goes by Abu Hamza, refers to Islamic texts on the virtues of staying silentGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA leader of a Melbourne Islamic centre allegedly linked to the accused Flydubai hijacker has released a video extolling the virtues of staying silent, without directly commenting on the accusations from prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates.Dr Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, the attorney general of the UAE, on the weekend said that investigators had traced the ideological and professional background of the 29-year-old suspect and that their findings indicated his “drift towards extremism and terrorism” began while he was studying at RMIT University in Melbourne in 2017. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Detained Australian engineer Robert Pether has left Iraq after being jailed in 2021 12. October 2026 (05:46) Australian foreign minister welcomes Iraqi government’s decision to allow engineer to leave BaghdadFollow our Australia politics live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian engineer Robert Pether has been allowed to leave Iraq after a four-year stint in a Baghdad jail cell that his family feared would kill him.Pether’s family say they have been “living in hell” since he was arrested without charge in April 2021 in connection to a business dispute between his firm – which was building a new headquarters for the central bank – and the Iraqi government. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australian Greens call for ‘barbaric’ US execution live stream to be blocked 12. October 2026 (05:27) Federal government urged to prevent Australians from viewing planned broadcast of Fort Hood mass murderer Nidal Hasan’s executionGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastFollow our Australia politics live blog for latest updatesThe Australian government should block the “barbaric” broadcast or live stream of a US military execution, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young says, but it is unclear whether the commonwealth can or would be willing to do so.While the communications department warned media broadcasters must “act responsibly” in reporting on the scheduled execution by firing squad of Nidal Malik Hasan – which the Pentagon said would be livestreamed on 3 December – Australian federal government sources said there may be limitations in what it can do to order restrictions on an ally carrying out its own legal proceedings. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Imran Khan’s party decries ‘coup’ after Pakistan suspends provincial government 12. October 2026 (02:22) Suspension of provincial government escalates standoff with Khan’s PTI party a week after his supporters began marching to demand his releasePakistan has declared a state of emergency in a province led by Imran Khan’s PTI party and suspended its government, a move a party spokesperson described as “more of a coup disguised as emergency”.President Asif Ali Zardari declared the emergency in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, after the federal government said authorities there had failed to tackle Islamist militancy in the province bordering Afghanistan. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Total fire ban for Sydney, with 37C temperatures and risk of bushfires from ‘dry lightning’ 12. October 2026 (02:18) Thunderstorms coupled with hot and dry conditions mean ‘fire danger is going to be right up today’, Rural Fire Service saysFollow our Australia politics live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastA total fire ban is in place across greater Sydney, with temperatures forecast to reach 37C in the city’s west.The Bureau of Meteorology said Sydney faced extreme fire danger due to hot, dry conditions and the chance of thunderstorms, with little rainfall. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pennsylvania shooter who killed eight was a grandfather, says slain child’s dad 12. October 2026 (01:48) Father of toddler killed in Erie mass shooting says reported gunman never seemed distressed or out of the ordinaryThe man who killed eight people, before turning the gun on himself, in a mass shooting in a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday was a grandfather who had not shown signs that he was capable of such violence, according to people who knew the shooter.A man whose toddler was among those killed said on Sunday that the man never seemed distressed or out of the ordinary, the Associated Press reports. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sacha Baron Cohen to star in Quentin Tarantino’s West End play The Popinjay Cavalier 12. October 2026 (01:27) The production marks the Hollywood director’s first play written for the stage, which he will also directSacha Baron Cohen will headline Quentin Tarantino’s play The Popinjay Cavalier when it premieres on the West End in London in March 2027.The production marks the Hollywood director’s first work written for the stage – which he will also direct. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
