Hussam Abu Safiya faces tangible danger to his life' following 18 months in prison without charge or trial

Dan Jarvis, who wants to stay on as defence secretary, says he is confident PM-in-waiting values national securityThe new defence secretary, Dan Jarvis, has called on Andy Burnham to increase defence spending dramatically from 2030 and evidence the trajectory" towards a Nato target that would mean 25bn a year more for the military by the middle of the next decade.The former paratrooper said he was confident that the prime minister-in-waiting valued national security, as he openly lobbied him for cash that would probably have to come from cuts elsewhere. Continue reading...

Analysis finds services cheaper but country ranks 57th in network performance and 70th for download speedsBritish holidaymakers watching online videos while they sit on a European beach this summer are likely to be pleasantly surprised: the signal should be better than at home.Mobile coverage in the UK is worse than in any of the 27 EU member countries, and every other member of the G7 group of large economies, according to analysis by consumer group Which? of data from Opensignal. Continue reading...

Interim president says unrest will not break out despite anger at official response to the 24 June disasterVenezuela's interim president has defended her country's emergency response to the twin earthquakes that have killed more than 3,000 people, vowing the country would not descend into social unrest.Many Venezuelans have expressed anger at what they see as the US-backed government's inadequate response to the 24 June disaster before international teams arrived. Continue reading...

Nothing to see here,' says the man who once overruled council planners in favour of Richard Dirty' DesmondHow unlucky can one man get? You have to feel for Nigel Farage. Why does it keep happening to him? There he is, just minding his own business, trying to make a decent living - those five houses won't pay for themselves, which is why other people may have done - and yet there's always someone trying to drag a good man down. Isn't the Man of the People (TM)" entitled to have a few multimillionaires as friends to bankroll his lifestyle? Who hasn't pined for crypto and gold bullion?First there was the 5m from the British-Thai crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, revealed exclusively by the Guardian. Months later, the stench won't go away. Even Nige has been at a loss to explain what exactly he was given the money for. Unsure whether it was a payment to cover security or just a little thank you" for a lifetime's work in the service of making the country an easier place for grifters to make money. Even now, Nige has gone to ground as he tries to get his story straight. Continue reading...

State Labor conference passes motion committing to higher taxes on some clubs and moratorium on licenses for new machines

Match at Burnopfield near Newcastle called off after 800kg young bull escaped from farm and stormed playing fieldA cricket match had to be abandoned after a runaway bull stormed the playing field and charged at players.The North East Premier League fixture at Burnopfield Cricket Club near Newcastle was called off on Saturday evening despite efforts to remove the animal from the ground. Continue reading...

Thousands of police deployed to Erfurt in central Germany as party holds conference on key Nazi dateRiot police have clashed with opponents of the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party on the streets of Erfurt in Germany, where thousands met to block roads and prevent AfD delegates from attending the party's biennial national conference to elect its leadership.Police reported 20,000 protesters were demonstrating in the eastern city, where Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla are expected to be re-elected as the party's co-leaders in the run-up to crucial regional elections in which AfD could win power at state-level for the first time. Continue reading...

Half of county's planning infringement notices target caravans in fields, fuelling eviction fears for vulnerable peoplePeople living in caravans and horseboxes on farms in Cornwall because they can't afford or find a house to rent are facing homelessness after a crackdown by the council.Cornwall council recently announced that it was one of the top five authorities in England for enforcing infringements of planning regulations. Half of those notices, it said, were served on caravans in agricultural fields. Continue reading...

Deal including national priority' policy brings prospect closer of countrywide agreement between partiesThe prospect of a national coalition between Spain's conservative People's party (PP) and its far-right Vox party has drawn closer still after the two groupings sealed another deal that will allow the PP to continue ruling the southern region of Andalucia.The PP, which has governed the former socialist bastion for the past seven years, lost its absolute majority in May's regional election, forcing it to look to Vox to help it stay in power in Spain's most populous region. Continue reading...

Ebony Bell convicted and handed community work order following assault on senator and second gratuitous act of violence' while on bail

Given pressures on the public purse, the Makerfield MP may have to look at autumn tax rises to fund his new direction'An economy rattled by a global energy shock, jittery bond markets and rising spending demands. As Andy Burnham prepares for government, the pressures on the public finances are in focus.The prospective prime minister pledged a new direction for Britain this week within two constraints: sticking to Labour's current fiscal rules, and consistency with its 2024 manifesto. Continue reading...

Canoeist David Hearn was arrested in June after touching a peeling piece of liner in the pool from renovation projectDavid Hearn, a three-time US Olympian and canoeist, has been indicted by a grand jury in Washington DC after Donald Trump blamed vandals for damaging Washington's reflecting pool following a $14.7m renovation project.The indictment accuses Hearn, 67, of maliciously" breaking or destroying lining material on the bottom of the reflecting pool on 19 June. Lawyers for Hearn denied the allegations following his arrest, accusing the Trump administration of treating ordinary conduct as criminal. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Findings cast doubt on Keir Starmer's claims that reallocation of funds to MoD will boost British jobsKeir Starmer's decision to cut billions of pounds of infrastructure spending to pay for more defence equipment will end up costing the UK 10,000 jobs, according to an analysis of the government's own figures.The prime minister announced this week he was putting an extra 15bn into defence investment to revamp the country's armed forces and boost British manufacturing. Continue reading...

NEC told it must take steps to address fears - including not hiring Everton stadium to announce new leader before nominations even openLabour chiefs have been warned they must placate disgruntled Labour members who are angry at the lack of party democracy because Andy Burnham is not expected to face a challenge to become Labour leader.MPs have told the party there are growing complaints from members about the lack of involvement from members if Burnham does not face a leadership contest from any other MP. Continue reading...

Couple pledges millions to children's hospitals, food banks and educational programs in advance of their big dayTaylor Swift and Travis Kelce are donating $26m to charities in advance of their rumored wedding at New York's Madison Square Garden this weekend, a representative for the couple has confirmed to the Guardian.The 20 named charities include organizations in meaningful locations to the couple such as Nashville (where Swift got her start in music), Kansas City (the home of Kelce's Chiefs NFL team) and New York City, where Swift and Kelce's wedding is reported to take place. Continue reading...

Between 1949 and 1976, an estimated 185,000 babies were taken from unmarried mothers and placed for adoption in England and WalesStarmer said what happened to the mothers, and their children, should never have happened. He said:What happened to them, and to tens of thousands of mothers, children, and families, should never have happened. It is a stain on our history.Mothers, many young, vulnerable, and without support were coerced, bullied, or misled into feeling that they had no choice but to have their children taken away from them. What a thing to do.I have to confess, as I said to them this morning, I found it hard to read the testimonies and to hear their stories.I find it particularly hard, as a dad. How much harder it must have been for them to go through that, to set out their testimonies and tell their stories over and over again. Continue reading...

The US city is home to about 70,000 Bosnians, the largest diaspora community outside their homelandMersad Smajic, a St Louis, Missouri, real estate investor and restaurant owner, has been thrilled to see fellow Bosnian immigrants thrive in their new home, which has been especially evident during the World Cup.The midwestern city has about 70,000 Bosnians, most of whom fled the country during its war in the 90s, making it the largest such community outside the Balkan country. Continue reading...

PM's former chief of staff opens up on political mistakes and shares Trump's theories about wind turbines

Indictment against alleged leader of gas pipeline attack claims former Ukrainian army officer was directed by stateGerman prosecutors have accused Ukrainian state authorities" of ordering the 2022 explosives attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia with Europe, a charge likely to ignite tensions between Kyiv and Berlin, its biggest military backer.The sabotage in the Baltic Sea by a team of assailants almost entirely destroyed the seafloor infrastructure of the key source of Russian gas to Germany. Continue reading...

Schism caused by Society of Saint Pius X ordaining four bishops without consent presents first crisis for Pope Leo

First judge found to have erred by giving 15-year-olds youth rehabilitation orders for rape of two girls in HampshireTwo 15-year-old boys who were spared custody for the rape of two girls have been sentenced to four years' detention after the court of appeal ruled their sentences were unduly lenient".After a national outcry, the attorney general, Richard Hermer, referred the case to the court to consider whether the sentences given to three boys - identified only as X, Y and Z - were too light Continue reading...

Reasons for increase not clear but experts say it could be welcome sign marine ecosystem is becoming healthierThe Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast have long drawn fans of the natural world keen to catch sight of the resident guillemots and puffins.But as recently as last week, another much bigger black-and-white animal has been delighting wildlife spotters. Orcas have been appearing more regularly than ever before. Continue reading...

Jury also finds Riad Bouchaker guilty of assaulting two other children and a childcare worker in 2023 stabbingsA man has been found guilty of attempting to murder three children during a stabbing attack in Dublin in 2023, a crime that horrified Ireland and triggered a riot in the capital.A jury at the central criminal court on Wednesday also found Riad Bouchaker, 52, guilty of assault causing serious harm to a childcare worker, Leanne Flynn, and of assaulting two other children and a teenager. Continue reading...

Figure is more than five times the widely used 600,000 figure widely cited in apologies by king and politiciansAt least 3.3 million people were enslaved in the Netherlands during the transatlantic slave trade, research claims - more than five times the 600,000 figure widely used in history books and cited in apologies by the king and politicians.King Willem-Alexander referred to the more than 600,000 people who were brought from Africa on Dutch ships to be sold as enslaved people when he apologised three years ago for the role of the Netherlands in the transatlantic slave trade. Continue reading...

The royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion hears how witnesses are subjected to hate speech amplified by misogyny

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Day trippers face fines for entering Austrian city's old town during July and August in action to curb chaotic traffic situations'Salzburg has begun enforcing a summer ban on visitors driving into its historic centre, picking up a policy modelled by other car-choked European cities plagued by overtourism.Authorities in Austria's fourth largest municipal area said they hoped the less traffic, more city" restrictions in July and August would reduce the number of vehicle entries by 1,000 a day. Continue reading...

Prime minister says he will take no lectures from Tories after Kemi Badenoch says investment plan is insufficient

New name recognises the playwright's huge impact on British theatre with producer Sonia Friedman saying he would be tickled pink'The Duke of York's theatre in the West End is to become the Tom Stoppard theatre in honour of the playwright who died in November.The theatre is currently presenting Carrie Cracknell's revival of Stoppard's 1993 masterpiece Arcadia and the same play was produced there in 2009. The playwright's wife, Sabrina Stoppard, said: Tom was in his element whenever he had a play on in the West End, so I am thrilled to bits that this theatre will be named after him. It means that his memory will live on, not just through his plays, but also through this building." Continue reading...

Track record of Welsh Water shows public ownership is not the answer to all the woes in the utilities sectorGood news for Andy Burnham: one of the original 10 water privatisations from the Thatcher-era has returned to public ownership already. Thanks to a complicated turn-of-the-century corporate saga, Welsh Water, serving 3 million people, converted to not-for-profit status in 2001. It has no shareholders. Financial surpluses go straight back into keeping bills down and looking after your water and beautiful environment", as the website blurb puts it.How's it going? After a quarter of a century without dividend-hungry shareholders to feed, has the model proved its superiority? Not exactly. Welsh Water usually has high scores on customer trust metrics but its performance on bills and spills tends to be middle of the pack. Continue reading...

Nearly 100 academy chief executives earn more than 200,000 a year, and at least one more than 500,000The era of academy school leaders in England receiving banker-style salaries" and hefty annual increases may soon be over, with the government to introduce limits on executive pay.Nearly 100 academy chief executives earn more than 200,000 a year, with pay in academy trusts equating to anything from less than 5 a pupil to more than 150. Only a quarter of the high-earners were women. Continue reading...

Ahead of England's first knockout game of the World Cup, Love Letter to England celebrates what English people have in commonWhat does it mean to be English? Ahead of England's first knockout game of the World Cup, Ian McKellen and the award-winning playwright James Graham have released a short film that attempts to answer that deceptively simple question.The film, Love Letter to England, explores and celebrates what people across the country have in common. It draws on early contributions to the National Conversation, a UK-wide initiative that began last month. Continue reading...

Case stems from 2022 lawsuit challenging FEC's enforcement of limits on coordinated party expenditures'

Keir Starmer earlier unveiled a 15bn plan but said defence spending cannot be bottomless pit' and MoD has to spend better'Keir Starmer is speaking now.They are at Malloy Aeronautics, a firm that designs heavy-lift drones, and Starmer says this morning they showed him one of the heaviest drones he had ever seen.Last year, I made the decision in the national interest to reprioritise aid spending towards defence and achieve the biggest uplift in defence spending since the end of the cold war.That was the right choice because the world has changed. National security is economic security. Continue reading...

More than 2,000 anti-foreigner protesters march through Durban city centre as the arbitrary deadline passes for undocumented migrants to leave the countrySouth Africa was holding its breath on Tuesday as mass anti-immigration protests were held across the country. They come after a weeks-long campaign against foreigners that has seen at least four killed and tens of thousands fleeing for safety.In the coastal city of Durban, where violence had been expected, the streets were unusually quiet and shops were shuttered as tension hung thick in the air. Continue reading...

Four men arrested and charged for allegedly taking part in jackpotting' scheme targeting ATMs at rest stops along I-95A group of four robbers netted more than $500,000 in an elaborate jackpotting" scheme targeting ATMs at rest stops along Interstate 95 in Connecticut, federal prosecutors in the state have alleged.The men targeted at least nine cash machines during a 10-day spree in August, according to a press release on Monday by the US attorney's office, which charged the four with a range of federal offenses. Continue reading...

Cristina Guarda says delegation was denied access to cells in offshore detention facility, at which six people have attempted suicideAn Italian MEP has questioned whether the Italian government is trying to hide the truth" about conditions at an offshore migrant detention centre in Albania after a delegation she was part of said they were prevented from conducting a full inspection.Cristina Guarda, from Italy's Greens and Left Alliance (AVS), said staff at the Italian-run facility in Gjader had refused to give MEPs from the Greens/EFA group key information, such as how many people were being held at the centre, and that they had not been allowed to access their cells. Continue reading...

Scott Bessent says he encourages them to be good actors' after Trump ranted about prices not dropping fast enoughScott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, issued a veiled warning to oil and gas companies to lower their prices on Tuesday, a day after Donald Trump berated those retailers on social media for not dropping their prices fast enough and demanded they target $2.50 a gallon.I would encourage them to be good actors, especially in the 250th anniversary, because we're watching," Bessent said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday morning, addressing big oil, independent and international retailers. Continue reading...

Authorities are still searching to identify the suspect of an alleged assassination attempt of a Ukrainian business tycoonin MadridMore than 1 million undocumented migrants and asylum seekers have applied to regularise their status in Spain under a government programme to harness and defend the benefits of immigration at a time when most European countries are pulling up the drawbridge.The fact that more than 1 million people submitted applications shows just how necessary this recognition of rights and responsibilities was." Continue reading...

ONS confirms 0.6% GDP growth in first quarter, with services, production and construction sectors expanding

The prime minister in waiting is seeking an interim base in the city centre before Ancoats site is completed in 2028A civil service base that is under construction in Manchester has been earmarked for Andy Burnham's No 10 North, according to reports.The northern centre of government will be in Ancoats, on the outskirts of Manchester city centre, but the site is not due to be completed before 2028, according to the Manchester Evening News. Continue reading...

Billionaires' wealth grew by 25% on average in the year ended in April, research from Swiss bank UBS finds

Police allege the 75-year-old tried to meet someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy after explicit online chats

Exclusive: Staff at Rockstar Games hope move can be completed before release of GTA VI scheduled for NovemberThe makers of Grand Theft Auto are attempting to gain official union recognition after mass sackings last year.Video game designers and other employees at Rockstar Games are working with the IWGB Game Workers Union to try to secure unionisation before the release of GTA VI scheduled for November. Continue reading...

Government fears repeat of anti-migrant violence in 2008 that led to looting and resulted in deaths of 62 peopleSouth African authorities have deployed police units to towns and cities around the country before planned demonstrations against undocumented foreign nationals.Security personnel were seen patrolling the central business district in Johannesburg, the economic capital, where many shopkeepers decided not to open on Tuesday. Trucks and other assets belonging to the South African National Defence Force were also present, according to local media reports. Continue reading...

Acoustic recording of a song titled The World Is Not Enough included in wide-ranging auction featuring formative Coldplay recordingsA lost demo recording of a song Coldplay's Chris Martin reportedly intended for 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough is going up for auction, alongside other recordings from the band's earliest years.For the auction by Wax Poetics, the British producer Chris Allison is making available an archive of recordings the band made prior to their Allison-produced second EP The Blue Room, released in October 1999. Continue reading...

Expected next prime minister focuses on restoring faith in politics, cost of living and devolution in major speech

Report says once-in-a-generation changes needed to tackle why such children are lowest-performing large demographicHigh-performing primary and secondary schools in England should be encouraged to admit more disadvantaged pupils from white working-class backgrounds to help reverse a continuing crisis in underachievement, an independent inquiry has said.The independent inquiry into white working-class educational outcomes concluded the current education system was not set up to serve white working-class children and families". Continue reading...