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China’s economic growth hits one-year low as house prices fall again – business live
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has delivered a speech to Communist Party elites on the opening day of a major meeting to approve a draft plan laying out their goals for the country over the next five years.
The official Xinhua News Agency report is light on detail, but says:
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, delivered a work report on behalf of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and expounded on the Party leadership’s draft proposals for the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national economic and social development.
Continue reading...© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
New Zealand v England: second men’s T20 international – live
Match at Hagley Oval begins at 7.15am BST
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2nd over: England 24-1 (Salt 20, Bethell 0) Duffy dug that wicket ball in short, which meant it hit high on the bat as Buttler came charging at him. Nicely bowled if he meant it.
This Hagley Oval pitch looks better for batting than on Saturday. Salt climbs into a wide ball from Jacob Duffy, blasting it square on the off side for four, then top-edges a pull over the keeper’s head for another boundary.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Joe Allison/Getty Images
© Photograph: Joe Allison/Getty Images
© Photograph: Joe Allison/Getty Images
Truce resumes after Israeli airstrikes on Gaza amid scramble to shore up ceasefire – Middle East crisis live
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly heading to Israel on Monday
Donald Trump said yesterday the ceasefire he brokered was still in place.
The US president told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that Hamas has been “quite rambunctious” and “they’ve been doing some shooting.” He suggested that the violence might be the fault of “rebels” within the organization rather than its leadership.
“It’s going to be handled toughly but properly,” he said.
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Trump warned Zelensky that Putin could ‘destroy’ Ukraine if he wants in closed-door ‘shouting match’: report
Trump says US will increase tariffs on Colombia as drug trade feud escalates
The Uncool by Cameron Crowe review – inside rock’s wildest decade
From shadowing a cocaine-addled David Bowie to winning over Joni Mitchell, deliciously readable tales from the director of Almost Famous
Cameron Crowe spent his youth being in the right place at the right time. In 1964, aged seven, he was taken by his mother to see “a kid named Bob Dylan” play a local college gym. By the age of 14, living in San Diego, he was writing record reviews for a local underground magazine whose main aim was to bring down Richard Nixon. Shortly after that, he started interviewing the bands of the day as they came through California – first Humble Pie for Creem, and then the Eagles, the Allman Brothers Band and Led Zeppelin for Rolling Stone.
Crowe previously fictionalised his story in the 2000 film Almost Famous, which he wrote and directed. His lyrical and compulsively readable memoir The Uncool is bookended by the opening of a musical version, which coincides with the death of Crowe’s mother Alice whose aphorisms, including “Put some goodness in the world before it blows up”, are scattered throughout the book. Alice insisted that Crowe skip two school grades, driving his precocity; she was also dead against rock’n’roll on account of its unbridled hedonism. When Crowe asks her what Elvis did on The Ed Sullivan Show that was so subversive he had to be filmed from the waist up, she “clinically” replies: “He had an erection”.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Neal Preston
© Photograph: Neal Preston
© Photograph: Neal Preston
AI-generated ‘poverty porn’ fake images being used by aid agencies
Exclusive: Pictures depicting the most vulnerable and poorest people are being used in social media campaigns in the sector, driven by concerns over consent and cost
AI-generated images of extreme poverty, children and sexual violence survivors are flooding stock photo sites and increasingly being used by leading health NGOs, according to global health professionals who have voiced concern over a new era of “poverty porn”.
“All over the place, people are using it,” said Noah Arnold, who works at Fairpicture, a Swiss-based organisation focused on promoting ethical imagery in global development. “Some are actively using AI imagery, and others, we know that they’re experimenting at least.”
Continue reading...© Photograph: Plan International/YouTube
© Photograph: Plan International/YouTube
© Photograph: Plan International/YouTube
I’m still globetrotting at 76. New people and new places are what keep me alive
Getting older hasn’t dimmed my love of travel. In my 70s, it’s still all about my next trip, be it a cruise, Goa … or a naturist resort in Crete
I may be 76, but slowing down, or retirement, couldn’t be further from my mind. True, I don’t have a hefty pension or a partner to while away the rest of my days with, but my love of travelling is as passionate as it has always been.
I love scaring myself stupid trying new experiences, and if a friend or daughter is unavailable I’ll go alone. Solo travel is far better than sitting at home looking back instead of forward.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Peter Flude/The Guardian
© Photograph: Peter Flude/The Guardian
© Photograph: Peter Flude/The Guardian
Wilfred Buck review – rewarding life of Indigenous American astronomer laid out in the stars
This hybrid documentary about the Cree astronomer offers evocative, poetic insight into a formidable community leader
For Cree astronomer Wilfred Buck, the stars hold an immense power that extends beyond the realm of science. Coming from an Indigenous group whose stories have been systematically effaced by official narratives, he looks to these clustered dots of light as both historical document and spiritual manifestation. Echoing Buck’s holistic approach to astronomy, Lisa Jackson’s hybrid documentary draws from a wealth of eclectic visual styles, all woven into a stunning portrait of a formidable community elder.
Someone always on the go, Buck is often seen behind the wheel, heading from one job to another. Speaking at academic conferences and workshops, and leading lectures and presentations for young students, he not only makes astronomy accessible but also builds lasting connections between different generations. This sense of togetherness is especially touching considering Buck’s own tragic family history. He was separated from his siblings growing up, after they were forcibly removed from their parents by the state. His home life was gripped by a cycle of addiction, poverty and depression.
Continue reading...© Photograph: PR
© Photograph: PR
© Photograph: PR
Bill Nighy is the agony uncle you never knew you needed: best podcasts of the week
The actor is a laconic delight as he dispenses surprising levels of wisdom in response to reader questions, while Obama, Paul McCartney and Ayo Edebiri pay homage to an African musical great
Bill Nighy is the agony uncle you never knew you needed as he answers readers’ questions in his new show. It’s a laconic delight, listening to his louche suggestions on topics from lipstick application to decluttering a record collection. Wisdom is being dispensed – despite his self-deprecating protestations. Alexi Duggins
Widely available, episodes weekly
© Photograph: Ian West/PA
© Photograph: Ian West/PA
© Photograph: Ian West/PA
In China, a Forbidden Question Looms: Who Leads After Xi?
© Florence Lo/Reuters
Twitch faces backlash after popular streamer Emiru allegedly assaulted by fan on video at TwitchCon meet and greet
Albanese arrives in US for Trump meeting as Republican congressman says Aukus ‘keeps Xi up at night’
The prime minister says it is ‘wonderful to be here’ ahead of long-awaited meeting with the president in the Oval Office at the White House
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Anthony Albanese has arrived in the US for a long-awaited meeting with President Donald Trump, where they are expected to discuss the Aukus pact – an agreement a respected Republican has called a “crucial deterrent” in the Indo-Pacific that “keeps [the Chinese president, Xi Jinping] up at night”.
Albanese arrived in Washington DC late on Sunday night local time (Monday afternoon AEDT) ahead of his meeting with Trump at the White House on Monday morning local time (Tuesday morning AEDT). The two men will meet in the Oval Office, followed by a scheduled lunch afterward, according to the White House.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
San Jose Sharks apologize for displaying message praising ICE during Hispanic heritage night
What’s gone wrong at WPP? The crown slips at the world’s biggest advertising group
Exodus of big clients, falling profits and dire forecasts raise prospect of a once ‘unthinkable’ breakup
A dark joke is doing the rounds in adland that Wire and Plastic Products, the Kent-based basketmaker that Martin Sorrell bought 40 years ago as a vehicle to build a global advertising giant, might outlast WPP.
For decades the financial success and dominance of WPP – its 100,000 employees service global clients from Ford to Coca-Cola – has been the corporate manifestation of Britain’s shining reputation for creative advertising.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
© Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
© Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
Baby Ava: could a new clue help trace parents of child found dead in Greater Manchester?
Police hope a distinctive piece of women’s underwear may help them solve the case one year after remains discovered
Beneath an ash tree in a snow-covered park, a tiny soiled bundle stood out against the gleaming white. A passing dog stopped in its tracks, sniffing at the dirt-covered fabric. Its owner stepped closer then halted, horrified, and called 999.
The first police officers at the scene carefully inspected the unusual object but had identified it within minutes: it was a little baby, frozen and decomposing in the first snow of winter.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Greater Manchester Police.
© Photograph: Greater Manchester Police.
© Photograph: Greater Manchester Police.
A-level English, voluntary work, delayed citizenship: it’s Labour’s Orwellian Two Minutes Hate for immigrants | Nesrine Malik
Britain has been stripped of the spaces that allow for true social integration. But it’s easier for politicians to blame ‘outsiders’
Every few weeks, another announcement. Immigrants must do this to earn the right to stay in the UK. Others must do that if they are to be allowed to work in the UK. The demands grow more punitive and absurd, like the whiteboard of a meeting where everyone agreed there were no bad ideas. Voluntary work! A decade to receive citizenship! Hear me out: English A-levels!
These are all real policies and pledges. Migrant NHS doctors for example, labouring for long work days beyond what they are paid for will now have to prove that they “contribute to society” to earn permanent settlement in the UK. The benchmark for that contribution is volunteer work (sorry, more volunteer work) in the community. The five-year route to settlement is now being extended to 10, to make absolutely sure that in addition to being in work, paying taxes, making national insurance contributions and paying a hefty charge to use the NHS, you’re not taking the piss. The latest demand is that some migrants must be able to speak English to A-level standard because, according to home secretary Shabana Mahmood, “it is unacceptable for migrants to come here without learning our language, unable to contribute to our national life”.
Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist
Continue reading...© Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
© Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
© Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images
Karan Gokani’s sweet treats for Diwali – recipes
These ladoos are sweet, nutty morsels of dough perfect for sharing, while a quick Indian take on a bread pudding should be an instant hit
Diwali is often called the festival of lights, a celebration of good over evil. It’s the most widely marked festival in India and feels a bit like Christmas does in the west. It’s synonymous with fireworks, bright colours, endless parties and tables creaking under the sheer weight of food and desserts. No Diwali is complete without boxes of sweets (mithai) and dried fruit exchanged between friends and family. In the UK, we keep those traditions alive, dressing up, visiting temples, reading Indian mythology to the kids and, most importantly, gathering with friends from every background and religion. For me, Diwali is about togetherness and sharing food that feels special, but doesn’t keep you in the kitchen for hours. The bread pudding is my take on the indulgent shahi tukda, while the ladoos are perfect to gift or to enjoy with a cup of chai after the feast.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Kim Lightbody/The Guardian. Food styling: Tamara Vos. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Food assistant: Lucy Ellwood.
© Photograph: Kim Lightbody/The Guardian. Food styling: Tamara Vos. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Food assistant: Lucy Ellwood.
© Photograph: Kim Lightbody/The Guardian. Food styling: Tamara Vos. Prop styling: Anna Wilkins. Food assistant: Lucy Ellwood.
Sanae Takaichi on track to become Japan’s first female prime minister after reportedly agreeing to new coalition
Officials confirm media reports that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic party will join forces with rightwing Nippon Ishin
Sanae Takaichi has moved a step closer to becoming Japan’s first female prime minister, after her party reportedly agreed to form a new coalition with a minor party.
Officials on Monday confirmed media reports that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic party (LDP) would join forces with the rightwing Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation party), which shares her hawkish stance on China and opposition to mass migration.
Continue reading...© Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki/AP
© Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki/AP
© Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki/AP
Welcome to Big Blue Hell as Giants find every way to lose: ‘Gonna be one that haunts us’
Jude McAtamney shoulders blame for kicking nightmare that cost Giants
Tiki Barber crushes Giants for ‘excusable play call’ in gut-wrenching loss to Broncos