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RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrived at a hospital in Sao Paulo Monday morning for his first chemotherapy session to treat his laryngeal cancer. File photo taken on Sept. 16, 2011 shows Brazil's former President Lula during a political reform meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, his physicians said Saturday. (Xinhua File Photo) Lula was diagnosed with cancer Saturday, and his doctors decided to start treatment right away. The former leader chose not to undergo surgery but instead go through a series of chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions in the next four months. In an interview with local TV Sunday evening, Lula's doctor Roberto Kalil Filho said the former president's survival chances are about 80 percent. Lula had been a longtime smoker, but quit recently. According to Brazil's National Cancer Institute (INCA), smoki...

While the Republican presidential nomination is far from settled, the dates and sites for debates between the Republican nominee and President Barack Obama have been announced. Frank J. Fahrenkopf, Jr., and Michael D. McCurry, co-chairmen of the non-partisan, non-profit Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) on Monday announced sites and dates for three presidential and one vice presidential debates during the 2012 general election. The first presidential debate will be held on Oct. 3 at the University of Denver, Denver, Colorado. It will be followed by a vice presidential debate on Oct. 11 at the Centre College, Danville, Kentucky. The second and third presidential debates are scheduled on Oct. 16 at the Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, and Oct. 22 at the Lynn University, Boca Raton, Florida, respectively. Following the announcement, Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina released a statement. "The President looks forward to next year's debates," the statemen...

Everyone believes that consumption is out of control. But is it? From food to paper and water, Britain has gradually been guzzling less over the last decade. Why? The year 2001 was more eventful than most and, a decade on, we're inundated with anniversaries. September was 9/11 , this month the invasion of Afghanistan and next month the release of the first iPod . To which we could add the foot-and-mouth crisis, the Gujarat earthquake and the first ever entries on Wikipedia . With so many significant events to look back on, one thing that few people will remember 2001 for is its entry in the UK's Material Flow Accounts, a set of dry and largely ignored data published annually by the Office for National Statistics. But, according to environment writer Chris Goodall , those stats tell an important story. "What the figures suggest," Goodall says enthusiastically, "is that 2001 may turn out to be the year that the UK's consumption of 'stuff' the total...

Lioness will feature 12 tracks, including a substantial amount of new material, and is described as 'faithful to her legacy' An Amy Winehouse album comprising 12 tracks, including new material will be released in time for Christmas, it has emerged. In a Soho recording studio, journalists heard most of the record, entitled Lioness, in the company of executives from Winehouse's label, Island Records. Her manager Raye Cosbert and producer Salaam Remi were also present. Remi worked with the singer on her two albums Frank and Back to Black and was slated to produce her third. Remi introduced and played seven songs those he declined to reveal were a Frank-era live set opener, Best Friends; an early version of the hit Valerie; a demo of the song Wake Up Alone; a version of the Shirelles' Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow; and the Tony Bennett duet Body and Soul, which has already appeared on the veteran singer's own recent album. At best, the seven tracks sounded like the b...

George Papandreou announces referendum to be held in a few weeks, after the European agreement is finalised Greece will hold a referendum on a new European debt deal reached last week. "This will be the referendum: the citizen will be called upon to say a big yes or a big no to the new loan arrangement," the troubled country's prime minister George Papandreou announced to Socialist members of the Greek parliament. "This is a supreme act of democracy and of patriotism for the people to make their own decision We have a duty to promote the role and the responsibility of the citizen. "We trust citizens, we believe in their judgment, we believe in their decision." Eurozone leaders agreed last week a second, 130bn bailout for the cash-strapped country as well as a 50% write-down on its crippling debt to make it sustainable. The referendum will be held in a few weeks, after the agreement is finalised, according to Reuters. It will be the first referendum in Gre...

Colourful court battle with fellow Russian oligarch Berezovsky forces Chelsea's quiet multibillionaire to break his silence He is one of the most scrutinised people on the planet, famous for his yachts, extravagant lifestyle and a certain football club in west London. But for the past five years the oligarch Roman Abramovich has said nothing in public. On Monday however, Abramovich was forced to break his long silence when he gave evidence for the first time in his colourful legal battle with Boris Berezovsky, the Kremlin critic and political exile. But those who came to the high court in London expecting to hear great insights into the billionaire's mindset, or a rousing speech in defence of his actions will have left rather disappointed. Abramovich said little and spoke only in Russian, with the judge, Dame Elizabeth Gloster, and a packed courtroom of barristers, security guards and supporters listening to a translation via headphones. After being sworn in, he faced a volley ...

Letter obtained by the Guardian shows how minister sought approval as law changes affected prince's Duchy of Cornwall Read the letter sent to Charles by Lady Andrews The government asked Prince Charles to approve draft planning and construction laws because they might directly affect the private 700m property empire that provides his annual income, documents obtained by the Guardian reveal . Lady Andrews, a Labour communities minister, wrote to Sir Michael Peat, Charles's private secretary, in 2008 seeking the prince's consent to law changes that would "affect the interests of the Duchy of Cornwall" and were "capable of applying ... [to the] Prince of Wales' private interests". The draft local democracy, economic development and construction bill proposed to change laws about handling disputes and payments in building contracts and to introduce a new regional strategy for planning permissions. The Duchy is a major builder, having spent more than 18m...

Are you getting ready to trick or treat? Send pictures of your preparations to @guardian , by email or to our Flickr group We knew you'd been busy creating Halloween costumes and carving pumpkins now here are the results. From horrifying ghoul and ghosts on the London tube and incredible feats of make-up, to topical pumpkin creations (see Rupert Murdoch and Angry Birds), the sincere crafters among you have been working hard. Play the slideshow to see the best pictures from our imaginative readers of their terrifying costumes and collections of fearsome beaming gourds. If you want to get involved by sending in your pictures of Halloween costumes and pumpkins you can upload you pictures to our Halloween Flickr group , or send a tweet to @guardian , labelled with the hashtag #gdnhalloween. Those not on Twitter can email pictures to hannah.waldram@guardian.co.uk or leave a comment . Halloween Pumpkin Hannah Waldram guardian.co.uk 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affil...

Graeme Knowles, the dean of St Paul's, stands down with immediate effect, saying his position has become 'untenable' The perceived dithering and divisions of church officials over the protest camp outside St Paul's in London have claimed a second major scalp with the resignation of the cathedral's dean, the Right Rev Graham Knowles. The dean whose job is sufficiently senior that a replacement must be approved by the Queen announced that mounting criticism over the cathedral's handling of the situation made his position "untenable". In a statement read on his behalf to the media at the Chapter House, opposite St Paul's, Knowles said: "In recent days, since the arrival of the protesters' camp outside the cathedral, we have all been put under a great deal of strain and have faced what would appear to be some insurmountable issues. "I hope and pray that under new leadership these issues might continue to be addressed and that there migh...

Freedom of Information Act request prompts bureau to release documents shedding new light on Operation Ghost Stories The FBI on Monday released surveillance tapes, photos and hundreds of pages of documents that shed new light on operation "Ghost Stories," the bureau's investigation of a ring of Russian sleeper agents that ended after more than a decade in the biggest spy swap since the Cold War. Called illegals because they took civilian jobs instead of operating inside Russian embassies and military missions, the spies, including New York real estate agent Anna Chapman, mostly settled into quiet lives in middle-class neighbourhoods. Their long-range assignment from Moscow: burrow deep into US society and cultivate contacts with academics, entrepreneurs and government policymakers on subjects from defence to finance. The heavily-edited files provide a glimpse into the intensive surveillance the deep cover agents were under, in some cases for almost a decade, showing the ...

Occupy London Stock Exchange activists to be handed letter from Corporation of London asking them to pack up camp The first step in what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle to remove the anti-capitalist protest camp from outside St Paul's cathedral in London will begin on Monday afternoon when officials formally hand activists a letter requesting that they pack up their tents and other belongings. A Corporation of London spokesman said the letter, which was still being drafted, was likely to ask that the Occupy the London Stock Exchange protesters move within 24 or 48 hours. Activists have been camping outside St Paul's for a fortnight in protest at the perceived excesses of bankers and the global finance system. Legal officials from the corporation, which owns some of the land around St Paul's, said they would distribute several copies of the letter in the camp. If the activists do not comply, which appears almost inevitable, then the corporation's lawyers will mos...

Former defence secretary, who resigned over links with Adam Werritty, says he has taken personal responsibility for mistakes The former defence secretary Liam Fox has revealed that he hopes to return to government after taking "personal responsibility" for his mistakes. In his first interview since resigning earlier this month, the North Somerset MP told BBC Radio Bristol that sitting on the backbenches would be interesting because he would be "freer to say what I want". But Fox made it clear that he does not believe the damage to his political career will prove fatal. "I would certainly like to get back to the frontbench how quickly is another matter and, for the moment, I will enjoy having a little bit of extra time," he said. "There are one or two projects that I want to get involved in on the charitable side, and to devote some time to things that I have wanted to do and been unable to." But Downing Street appeared to play down speculation o...

Deputy PM says latest 950m from regional growth fund will lead to 'snowball effect' creating growth The deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, has said the government's regional growth fund will provide a "snowball effect that creates hundreds of thousands of jobs". Clegg outlined the second tranche of regional growth fund investment worth 950m and said it would ensure taxpayers get "more bang for our bucks" by creating growth and reducing dependence on the financial services sector. He said the funds would create or safeguard 325,000 jobs, and rejected criticism of the length of time it has been taking for the cash to reach businesses. "What we're trying to do is invest public money, taxpayers' money, into companies which can create jobs that last," Clegg told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. The regional growth fund, announced by the government in June 2010, has been criticised by Labour because so few companies have yet to receive mo...

Rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen 9.32am: Liam Fox , the former defence secretary, has given an interview to Radio Bristol. According to PoliticsHome, he said that he would be working on charitable projects, but he also made it clear that he wanted to return to the frontbench. I would certainly like to get back to the front bench. How quickly is another matter, and for the moment I will enjoy having a little bit of extra time. There are one or two projects that I want to get involved in on the charitable side, and to devote some time to things that I have wanted to do and been unable to. He also repeated the attack he launched on some parts of the press in his resignation statement in the Commons. Journalists were not free to do what they liked, he said. Relatives are phoning up because they are upset - even to the point where one of my nephews who is 14 was being doorstepped and that was unacceptable. I've been told by a colleague that ...

'Exponential rise' in attacks on departments, industry and public reveal global cybercrime marketplace, says intelligence director A "significant but unsuccessful" cyber-attack was made on the Foreign Office and other government departments this summer, according to GCHQ . Iain Lobban, director of the government's listening centre, said the UK's "continued economic wellbeing" was under threat because of a "disturbing" number of such attacks on the government, industry and members of the public. Writing in the Times , he said sensitive data on government computers had been targeted, along with defence, technology and engineering firms' designs. "I can attest to attempts to steal British ideas and designs in the IT, technology, defence, engineering and energy sectors, as well as other industries to gain commercial advantage or to profit from secret knowledge of contractual arrangements," said Lobban. "Such intellectual...

Gun battle continues after car bombing near UNHCR building in third big attack on foreign targets in a few days Four people have been killed in a suicide attack in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, according to authorities, in the third bloody assault in a few days against targets associated with foreign missions in the country. Fighting continued afterwards with armed attackers shooting at security forces from inside a building, the provincial governor's office said. Officials said the suicide car bomb killed three civilians and a policeman near the UNHCR guesthouse and the non-governmental organisation International Relief Development. Several other insurgents rushed through and seized control of an animal clinic. Kandahar police chief General Abdul Razzaq said Nato and Afghan forces continued to exchange fire with the attackers afterwards. The UN confirmed the blast was close to its high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) office in Kandahar. "We are aware of an explosion...