Five siblings jailed for illegally extracting water feeding Spanish nature reserve

Farmers found guilty of crimes against environment for tapping aqueduct feeding Unesco-listed Donana national park

Five siblings have been jailed for more than three years for illegally extracting water from an aqueduct feeding a Unesco-listed Spanish nature reserve that is threatened by desertification, a court ruling showed.

The farmers – four men and a woman – were found guilty of crimes against the environment and causing damage through the “systematic and extensive extraction” of water supplying Donana national park, according to the ruling dated 18 September that was seen by Agence France-Presse on Friday.

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Ukraine mounts missile strike on Russian Black Sea fleet HQ in Crimea

Latest high-profile attack on Russian forces based on annexed peninsula targets base in Sevastopol

A Ukrainian missile attack has hit the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in occupied Crimea, the latest high-profile Ukrainian strike on the annexed peninsula.

Russia’s defence ministry said that one military serviceman was missing as a result of the assault, which hit the navy headquarters in the port city of Sevastopol.

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European Commission announces €127m aid to Tunisia to reduce migration as rescue groups warn of death toll at sea – as it happened

Commission says it is ‘cracking down’ on smuggling networks as NGOs say more assistance is needed from Europe’s leaders. This live blog is closed

The Paris public prosecutor’s office said today that far-right leader Marine Le Pen and 24 others should stand trial over alleged misuse of EU funds, Reuters reports.

The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, have used the situation in Lampedusa “for political campaigning,” according to Dutch European parliament member Sophie in ‘t Veld.

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Zelenskiy secures $325m in new US aid even as Republican support wanes

Ukraine president delivers upbeat message on war progress during second White House visit since Russian invasion

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy worked to shore up US support for Ukraine on a whirlwind visit to Washington on Thursday, delivering an upbeat message on the war’s progress while facing new questions about the flow of US dollars that for 19 months have helped keep his troops in the fight against Russian forces.

The Ukrainian leader received a far quieter reception than the hero’s welcome he was given last year from Congress, but also won generally favorable comments on the next round of US aid he says he needs to stave off defeat.

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Alarm over ‘fascist-like’ protest at Ireland’s seat of government

Mock gallows erected covered in pictures of politicians in ugly scenes in Dublin

Ireland is reviewing security around the seat of government after aggressive protests in Dublin that trapped lawmakers, ended with 13 arrests and were condemned by the country’s leadership as “wrong” and “fascist-like”.

The Oireachtas, Ireland’s legislature, was put into a virtual lockdown for hours on Wednesday by a small but abusive group of about 200 people.

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Keir Starmer: Labour in power would not ‘want to diverge’ from EU

Party leader says he would not bring in lower environmental and food standards than in Europe or reduce workers’ rights

Keir Starmer has gone further than before in outlining his vision of a future UK relationship with the EU, saying Labour didn’t “want to diverge” – in comments that were immediately seized on by the Conservatives.

The Labour leader was speaking at an event in Canada bringing together liberal and centre-left politicians, where he said that “most of the conflict” since Brexit had arisen because the UK “wants to diverge and do different things to the rest of our EU partners”.

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Russia temporarily bans export of petrol and diesel to stabilise domestic market

Four ex-Soviet states excepted from ban, which has been prompted by railway bottlenecks and weak rouble

Russia has temporarily banned exports of petrol and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states with immediate effect, in order to stabilise the domestic market.

“Temporary restrictions will help saturate the fuel market, which in turn will reduce prices for consumers,” the Kremlin said in a statement.

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Poland will no longer send weapons to Ukraine, says PM, as grain dispute escalates

Comments by Polish PM follow Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s accusation that some in Europe are in effect aiding Russia

Poland, one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies, has announced an end to its arms transfers to the country, a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Warsaw of playing into Russia’s hands by banning Ukrainian grain imports.

Poland is one of Kyiv’s main weapons suppliers and has been one of the loudest cheerleaders for the Ukrainian cause since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, but relations have soured over recent days amid the growing row over grain.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskiy ‘looking forward to discussing air defense’ with Biden before US announces ‘significant’ military aid – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For our latest reporting on the war in Ukraine, you can read our latest report:

Energy and civilian infrastructure was hit in an early morning Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s western Rivne region, Reuters reports local governor Vitaliy Koval said on Thursday.

The Russian defence ministry claims to have downed 19 drones over the Black Sea and Crimea regions, and three further drones launched at the Belgorod, Kursk and Oryol regions by Ukraine.

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Zelenskiy calls for Russia to lose UN veto power; UN chief says ‘humanity has opened gates of hell’ on climate – live

Ukrainian president says war impossible to stop while Russia vetoes all efforts at peace; Guterres condemns world leaders’ inaction on climate crisis

The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, addressed UN ambassadors at the annual general assembly on Tuesday where he accused America of fanning the flames of violence in Ukraine, prompting protests from Israel’s representative to the UN.

Raisi claimed any Iranian-made drones hitting Ukrainian cities had been sold before the war started and said he was in favour of peace in Ukraine, on the same day that Tehran hosted a Russian defence delegation led by its defence minister, Sergei Shoigu.

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Zelenskiy says only way to ensure peace is fundamental UN reform

Ukrainian president says UN general assembly should have power to override veto and calls for Russia’s to be removed

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told the UN security council that the way to bring peace in Ukraine and to prevent further wars of aggression is through fundamental UN reform.

The Ukrainian president argued that the war had demonstrated the need to limit veto power, give the UN general assembly the power to override vetoes, and expand the council’s permanent members beyond the current five powers, who acquired their privileged position in the wake of the second world war.

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Extreme weather shows need for early warning systems, says Spanish minister

Teresa Ribera calls for alert systems in every country by 2027 after spate of natural disasters across the world

The latest spate of natural disasters – from the floods in Libya, Greece and Spain to the wildfires in Hawaii and Canada – has further underscored the need for early warning systems to help the world cope with the realities of the climate emergency, Spain’s environment minister has said.

Speaking to the Guardian as she prepared to travel to New York to take part in the UN’s climate ambition summit and sign a landmark treaty to protect the high seas, Teresa Ribera said the calamities laid bare the challenges the planet faced.

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UK and France to investigate Dunkirk shipwrecks from second world war

Archaeologists to survey waters off coast of northern France using latest technology to scour seabed

Churchill called the mass evacuation of allied forces from the beach and pier at Dunkirk a “miracle of deliverance”, but the operation to rescue more than 330,000 troops trapped by German forces in May 1940 came at a heavy cost.

Of the up to 1,000 vessels, from military warships to fishing boats, lifeboats and pleasure craft, that scrambled to help the stranded men, hundreds were sunk during the nine-day Operation Dynamo with the loss of many lives.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskiy says UN ‘ineffective’ in defending borders and should do more – as it happened

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here

Interfax in Russia is reporting that a Su-34 bomber crashed in the Voronezh region during a training flight. Voronezh borders the partially occupied Ukrainian region of Luhansk. The pilots are reported to have ejected.

The all clear has been sounded in Kherson.

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Nagorno-Karabakh: ceasefire agreed after dozens killed in military offensive

Deal includes provisions for local Armenian government to disband its local military, in capitulation to Azerbaijan

A ceasefire agreement has been reached a day after Azerbaijan launched a new military offensive against the local Armenian government in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, potentially averting a wider war but threatening the long-term existence of the ethnic Armenian enclave there.

The agreement took effect at 1pm local time and includes provisions for the local Armenian government to disband its local military, in a capitulation to Azerbaijan.

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Zelenskiy accuses Russia of genocide and urges world leaders to attend peace summit

Ukrainian president says all leaders ‘who do not tolerate any aggression’ would be invited to a peace summit

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has told the UN general assembly that Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine and urged world leaders to attend a peace summit to help stop the invasion and future wars of aggression.

Appearing in the assembly chamber in New York for the first time in person, the Ukrainian president used the opportunity to try to galvanise support for his country’s plight among many countries, especially in the global south, many of whom have sought to sit on the fence in the face of the full-scale Russian invasion.

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UK could become an ‘EU lite’ member of bloc, suggests Franco-German report

Blue-sky exercise envisages four levels of membership to allow for countries having looser ties to the union

A vision of a future EU with four types of membership – including an “EU lite” for countries such as the UK – has been tabled by a group of academics commissioned by France and Germany to consider future reforms.

The proposal comes as the UK’s opposition leader, Keir Starmer, told France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, that he wanted to build an “even stronger” relationship between the two countries if he wins power at a national election pencilled in for next year.

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France accused of attack on press freedom after journalist arrest

Ariane Lavrilleux, who reported on leaked documents alleging French intelligence used to target civilians in Egypt, is in custody

France has been accused of an unacceptable attack on press freedom after the arrest of an investigative journalist who reported on leaked documents that alleged French intelligence was used to target civilians in Egypt.

Police arrived at the home of Ariane Lavrilleux at dawn on Tuesday and took her into custody after searching her property. The news agency AFP reported that she was being questioned by agents of the DGSI, France’s domestic intelligence agency.

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Israeli ambassador protests as Iranian president speaks – as it happened

The United Nations general assembly liveblog is now closed, but please see the following stories to stay on top of the day’s news:

Guterres says countries such as Russia are creating a “world of insecurity” for everyone following its invasion of Ukraine, which he says has “unleashed the next phase of our lives: historic human rights abuse, families torn apart, children traumatised, hopes and dreams shattered.”

The war in Ukraine has “serious implications” for the world beyond Kyiv, he says, pointing to the collapse of the Black Sea grain initiative.

The world badly needs Ukrainian food and Russian food and fertilisers to stabilise markets and guarantee food security.

Sudan is descending into full scale civil war. Millions have fled and the country risks splitting apart.

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, millions are displaced and gender based violence is a horrific daily reality in a country that suffered centuries of colonial exploitation, is today overwhelmed by gang violence and still awaits international support.

Authoritarianism is on the march, inequalities are growing, and hate speech is on the rise.

What we need is determination and determination which is in the DNA of our United Nations, summoning gods with the first words of the charter.

We the peoples of the United Nations, determined, determined to end the scourge of war, determined to reaffirm faith in human rights, determined to uphold justice and respect international law and determined to promote social progress and better lives for all people.

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