Mr and Mrs Smith writer Francesca Sloane reportedly tapped to bring back A-list cast of hit seriesA third season of award-winning drama series Big Little Lies is now in development.According to Deadline, Francesca Sloane has been tapped to write the first episode and she will also act as executive producer alongside series creator David E Kelley. Sloane is best known for co-creating Amazon's Mr and Mrs Smith series with Donald Glover. Her credits also include writing for Atlanta and Fargo. Continue reading...
Next summer, the star will appear in Stratford-upon-Avon first as Prospero and then alongside Helen Hunt in Chekhov's classicMore than 40 years after his star-making performance as Henry V in Stratford-upon-Avon, Kenneth Branagh is to return to the Royal Shakespeare Company. He will appear in The Tempest and, alongside Oscar winner Helen Hunt, in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard at the RSC next summer.Branagh, 64, began to build a reputation as one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of his generation when he played Henry V, aged 23, in a 1984 season that included roles as Laertes in Hamlet and the King of Navarre in Love's Labour's Lost. The following year he wrote and directed the play Tell Me Honestly for the RSC. Branagh went on to both direct and star in acclaimed Shakespeare productions during an illustrious stage and screen career that has included breaking an Oscars record as the first person to be nominated in seven individual Academy Award categories. The Tempest will mark his first role for the RSC since he played Hamlet in 1992 and 1993 (first at the Barbican in London and then in Stratford), directed by Adrian Noble. Continue reading...
Edi Rama, PM, says digital assistant Diella will make Albania a country where public tenders are 100% free of corruption'A digital assistant that helps people navigate government services online has become the first virtually created" AI cabinet minister and put in charge of public procurement in an attempt to cut down on corruption, the Albanian prime minister has said.Diella, which means Sun in Albanian, has been advising users on the state's e-Albania portal since January, helping them through voice commands with the full range of bureaucratic tasks they need to perform in order to access about 95% of citizen services digitally. Continue reading...
Despite being repeatedly asked, No 10 declines to say the PM was misled' by MandelsonStephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, is responding to the UQ about Peter Mandelson.He starts by making the point that it is the anniversary of the despicable" 9/11 terrorism attacks.Keir Starmer must sack Peter Mandelson without further delay - and come clean about what he knew when, and whether he sanctioned blocking the publication of damaging material.
Move seen as effort to win US favour and sanctions relief, as crackdown on dissent continuesBelarus has released 52 prisoners of various nationalities, after a visit by a US delegation to Minsk, in Alexander Lukashenko's latest attempt to balance ties between Russia and the west.Thursday's prisoner release was one of the biggest of Lukashenko's authoritarian rule, and was part of his effort to mend relations with Washington and secure sanctions relief after years of isolation. Continue reading...
by Jakub Krupa (now) and Tom Ambrose(earlier) on (#6ZYWS)
Poland is seeking to step up its defences with plans to restrict air traffic in the eastern part of the countryGrynkewich now gets a specific question on Poland.He speaks about how allied command operations worked in this case, with every level doing exactly what they were supposed to do, which was to defend Alliance territory."But when you're when you're an operational commander, and you have a capability and there's an attack or an incursion into your airspace, the cost of the weapon doesn't matter at that moment in time; you're going to use it to defend our population." Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#6ZZ35)
Schoolgirl victim tells inquiry she looked into killer's possessed' eyes before he launched attack at dance workshopA teenage girl who was stabbed twice in the Southport attack has described staring into the killer's possessed" eyes and reliving that day like a horror film on repeat".The schoolgirl, who cannot be identified, told the public inquiry into the atrocity that it must explain how knife-obsessed Axel Rudakubana was able to carry out the murders. Continue reading...
by Philip Oltermann European culture editor on (#6ZZ2C)
Belgian organisers are accused of naked antisemitism' after cancelling performance by Lahav ShaniA Belgian classical music festival has axed a leading German orchestra from its programme over concerns about its Israeli conductor, drawing accusations of antisemitism from Berlin.Flanders Festival Ghent announced it had cancelled a concert by the Munich Philharmonic scheduled for 18 September, citing insufficient clarity over Lahav Shani's attitude to the Israeli government. Continue reading...
Annual cost of allowance has more than doubled in recent years because of quick turnover of prime ministersMore than 8m of taxpayers' money has been spent on funding the public lives of former prime ministers over the last three decades, a Guardian analysis has found.All former PMs are able to claim up to 115,000 a year - until the end of their lives - in a subsidy to enable them to contribute to public life after they have left Downing Street. Continue reading...
The University of Tasmania apologised, saying staff had met with families and will consider the coroner's findingsHuman specimens were collected, and in some cases publicly displayed, by a museum for decades without the knowledge or consent of families.The University of Tasmania's R A Rodda Museum collected remains from coronial autopsies from 1966 to 1991 for teaching and research purposes. Continue reading...
by Helen Davidson in Hong Kong, and agencies on (#6ZYVG)
Legislative council voted down a bill that was introduced to comply with an order from the city's top courtHuman rights groups have accused the Hong Kong government of failing to provide the bare minimum" of rights to same-sex couples after it rejected a bill that was introduced to comply with an order by the city's top court.The city's unicameral legislative council (LegCo), on Wednesday rejected the bill by a vote of 71-14 after the second reading, following months of debate in the city between opponents who said it threatened family values and advocates who said the government was out of line with the majority of residents who supported same-sex relationships. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: More than a dozen drones entered Polish airspace, the first time in the war a Nato country has been pulled into direct military action - and an escalation Europe can't ignoreGood morning. Less than a month ago, European leaders were sitting in the White House with Donald Trump, sketching out a path to peace for Ukraine. Fast forward to Wednesday and the Polish prime minister warned that the prospect of a large military conflict is closer than at any time since the second world war".This is because Vladimir Putin has been drawing up his own plans, flying more than a dozen drones into Polish airspace. It is the closest the fighting has come to European homes and the first time a Nato country has been pulled into direct military action since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.US | Charlie Kirk, founder of rightwing youth activist group Turning Point USA and a close ally of Donald Trump, was fatally shot on Wednesday afternoon while speaking at Utah Valley University near Salt Lake City.UK news | Keir Starmer was urged to sack Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the US after more details emerged of his close friendship and business dealings with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.Europe | A joint operation between several central European countries has identified an alleged Belarusian spy ring that reportedly included a former deputy head of Moldovan intelligence.Iran | Tehran and the UN nuclear inspectorate have reached an agreement that will allow inspectors to return to inspect all of Iran's nuclear sites, including those bombed by Israel and the US in June.Boris Johnson | The publisher of the Washington Post, Will Lewis, is facing fresh questions over his independence after a cache of leaked files revealed he gave extensive support to Boris Johnson as a secret political adviser when Johnson was prime minister. Continue reading...
Rights group also finds rise in openly gay, bisexual and transgender people running for office in 36 countriesPoliticians in at least 51 countries used homophobic or transphobic rhetoric during elections last year, from depicting LGBTQ+ identity as a foreign threat to condemning gender ideology", according to a new study of 60 countries and the EU.However, there were also gains for LGBTQ+ representation in some countries. Openly gay, bisexual and transgender people ran for office in at least 36 countries, including for the first time in Botswana, Namibia and Romania - albeit unsuccessfully - according to the report by Outright International. The number of LGBTQ+ elected officials doubled to at least 233 in Brazil. Continue reading...
by Jason Burke International security correspondent on (#6ZYP6)
The International IDEA's survey of democratic markers finds US is offering encouragement' to populist leadersPress freedom around the world has suffered its sharpest fall in 50 years as global democracy weakens dramatically, a landmark report has found.According to the Stockholm-based International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), democracy has declined in 94 countries over the last five years and only a third have made progress. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6ZYP5)
Caesareans drive rise in assisted deliveries as experts warn of complex pregnancies linked to age, obesity and other conditionsMore than half of women having a baby in Britain now do so with the help of medical intervention, an audit of NHS maternity care has revealed.Of the 592,594 births that took place in 2023, 50.6% involved either a caesarean section or the use of instruments such as forceps or a ventouse suction cup. Continue reading...
Isaac Herzog says when allies meet they can argue' after some Labour MPs condemn Downing Street meetingThe British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, had a tough" set of exchanges over humanitarian aid in Gaza at a Downing Street meeting, amid street protests demanding Herzog's arrest as a war criminal.Herzog, speaking to the Chatham House thinktank immediately after the meeting, said he had offered the British government a fact-finding mission to look at the levels of aid entering Gaza. He denied there was any famine and blamed the high civilian death toll on Hamas placing missiles in living rooms. Continue reading...
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani calls for Benjamin Netanyahu to be brought to justice'Qatar's prime minister has said that Benjamin Netanyahu killed any hope" for the remaining hostages in Gaza following Israel's extraordinary strike on Hamas negotiators in Doha on Tuesday.In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani called the deadly strike in the Qatari capital an act of state terror". Israel's attack the previous day killed six members of Hamas who were negotiating a ceasefire deal brokered by the US and other Gulf countries. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Deputy political editor on (#6ZYEV)
Education secretary and Manchester MP look destined for face-off as three other candidates struggle for MP nominationsLabour's deputy leadership contest is set to be a race between the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, and the ousted cabinet minister Lucy Powell, as three other candidates in the race struggled to make nominations.Phillipson comfortably cleared the hurdle of 80 nominations on Wednesday evening with backing from 116 MPs, but Powell was not yet at the threshold with 77 nominations. Continue reading...
Cockpit union says the issue has become a worrying reality' for its members as a result of growing fatigueA German pilots' union has said that napping during flights has become a worrying reality" for its members, as it sounded the alarm over increasing fatigue" in the sector.The Vereinigung Cockpit union said it had carried out a survey of more than 900 pilots in recent weeks, which found that 93% of them admitted to napping during a flight in the past few months. Continue reading...
More than 10 Infidels MC members deployed to sites run by US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian FoundationSenior members of an anti-Islamic biker gang have been hired by US contractors and deployed to Gaza to oversee security at food distribution sites backed by the US and Israeli governments, according to a BBC investigation.The investigation found that more than 10 members of Infidels MC, a US biker gang that uses the Crusader cross as its symbol and whose members have anti-Islamic tattoos, have been hired by UG Solutions and deployed to food aid sites run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. According to the BBC, seven members of the gang are in senior positions overseeing [GHF] sites". Continue reading...
UK's ambassador to US urged financier to fight for early release' after charges of procuring child for prostitutionThe British ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, told Jeffrey Epstein to fight for early release" and wrote: your friends stay with you and love you" when the disgraced financier was facing charges of procuring a child for prostitution, according to leaked emails.The emails, first published by the Sun after circulating in Washington DC, will put further pressure on Mandelson after he admitted on Tuesday that more very embarrassing" details of his friendship with Epstein were likely to emerge but insisted he had never seen any wrongdoing". Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#6ZYF0)
Central, Northern and District lines partly running as RMT presses Sadiq Khan for talks over shorter working weekLimited tube services ran on Wednesday as more staff turned up for work on the London Underground, while RMT strikes disrupted the capital for the third day this week.No talks have taken place to resolve the dispute, with the RMT now demanding a summit with the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, in its quest for a shorter working week. Continue reading...
PM was grilled by Kemi Badenoch on suitability of Mandelson for job as US ambassadorHelena Horton is a Guardian environment reporter.Emma Reynolds, the new environment secretary, had a difficult job this morning: meeting a group of farmers after Labour caused fury in the rural community by introducing a new inheritance tax.The Treasury reserve, designed to be used for genuinely unforeseen, unaffordable and unavoidable pressures" has recently been used to fund higher public sector pay and compensation payouts.In a letter to ministers, the chancellor said Treasury would only consider providing reserve funds to departments that have already maximised their savings ... Continue reading...
Many of 1 million residents say they will not leave as they do not believe al-Mawasi humanitarian zone is safeThe Israeli military has killed at least 41 people in Gaza, including 12 aid seekers, over the last 24 hours as it continued to order the population of Gaza City to evacuate before its planned offensive.The evacuation orders were accompanied by intensified Israeli bombing of the city, the Israeli military interspersing orders with announcements of high-rise towers they had bombed. Continue reading...
by Tom Ambrose (now); Amy Sedghi and Vicky Graham (ea on (#6ZY0V)
This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereA teacher taking part in the protests in Paris said he was against the ousted government's planned budget cuts. [Francois]Bayrou was ousted, [now] his policies must be eliminated," Christophe Lalande told Reuters, calling for more funding for schools and hospitals.At another protest in the city, unionist Amar Lagha told the news agency:This day is a message to all the workers of this country: that there is no resignation, the fight continues, and a message to this government that we won't back down, and if we have to die, we'll die standing. Continue reading...
by Henry Dyer, Tom Burgis and Rob Evans on (#6ZYBG)
Official log refers to Wafic Said, a Canadian billionaire whose British wife has given millions to party, as donor'The Conservative party is facing questions over a possible breach of electoral law involving one of its largest benefactors, after leaked files cast doubt on official declarations of donations worth 2.6m.More than 40 donations to the Tories over 23 years have been registered in the name of Rosemary Said, a British woman. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Thousands of film workers join new boycott initiative criticized by Israeli producers' group as misguided'Thousands of actors, directors and other film industry professionals have signed a new pledge vowing not to work with Israeli film institutions they say are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people".As film-makers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognise the power of cinema to shape perceptions" the pledge reads. In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror." Continue reading...
by Guardian staff and agencies in Havana on (#6ZYBJ)
Grid failure follows string of nationwide blackouts that plunged antiquated power system into near-total disarrayEmergency crews were working to restore power to 10 million people on Wednesday as Cuba suffered its fifth nationwide blackout in under a year, the energy ministry announced.There has been a total disconnection of the electric system," the energy ministry and National Electric Union said early on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Several raise concerns that disclosing their donors exposes them to political attack but others warn not doing so can prompt legitimate questions about influence
The Liberal MP bought the product, which profits when the ASX 200 falls, in early 2020, his register of interests shows, but an analysis and experts say it has been a poor investment
Exclusive: Unicef-commissioned report shows being unable to finish high school - and the associated wage loss - is the most significant impact of increasingly frequent disasters on young peopleKangaroo Valley was hit by raging fires and floods three times in three years.In 2019, the black summer bushfires had forced Layla Wang's family to flee their home. Then in 2022, after floods and landslides isolated the valley, she was trapped there, spending several stressful" weeks isolated from school - in the middle of year 12, with no access to her classes and limited resources. Continue reading...
Number of attempts to cross Channel has been particularly high for several days, say French authoritiesFour people including two children have died in two separate incidents while trying to cross the Channel to the UK in the past 24 hours, while three others are missing in a third incident.On Tuesday night off the coast of Sangatte, France, three people lost their lives while travelling on a dinghy with 38 people onboard. Three others are missing after an incident in Neufchatel-Hardelot, France, on a boat with 115 people onboard. Continue reading...
Choi Mal-ja's appeal gained momentum after #MeToo movement inspired her to seek justiceA court in South Korea has acquitted a woman convicted six decades ago for biting off part of a man's tongue during an alleged sexual assault, after she challenged the ruling, inspired by the country's #MeToo movement.Choi Mal-ja was 19 in 1964 when she was attacked by a 21-year-old man in the southern town of Gimhae. He pinned her to the ground and repeatedly forced his tongue into her mouth, at one point blocking her nose to stop her from breathing, according to court records. Continue reading...
by Rory Carroll Ireland cortrespondent on (#6ZY50)
Drivers forced to flee in what police are investigating as racially-motivated incidents near retail parkA group of men in Belfast have surrounded and attacked two cars and forced their drivers to flee in suspected racially motivated hate crimes.At least a dozen men, some masked, targeted the motorists on Monday evening near Connswater retail park in what appeared to be the latest incident in a vigilante campaign against migrants in the east of the city. Continue reading...
Bath museum celebrates varied ways illustrators of author's work and adapters of her novels have portrayed her characters through historyFor the 21st-century Jane Austen fan, the images of Colin Firth's Mr Darcy in the beloved BBC series Pride and Prejudice or Anya Taylor-Joy's big-screen portrayal of Emma may be the first to leap to mind.But an exhibition opening in Bath celebrates the varied ways illustrators of Austen's work and adapters of her novels have depicted some of her most cherished characters. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot, Harry Davies, Henry Dyer and Rowena on (#6ZY2K)
Extensive meetings in 2022 between Lewis, then vice-chair of AP, and Johnson were not disclosed in transparency recordsThe publisher of the Washington Post, Will Lewis, is facing fresh questions over his independence after a cache of leaked files revealed he gave extensive support to Boris Johnson as a secret political adviser when Johnson was prime minister.The files shed light on how the media executive, who at the time was vice-chair of the Associated Press news agency, worked behind the scenes with Johnson as his premiership was engulfed by a series of scandals. Continue reading...
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