The prime minister plans to bring in the National Crime Agency to tackle the gangs behind dumpsValue being generated by student loans is not what it should be", Reform UK's deputy leader said.Asked by reporters about the funding of the scheme by stopping foreign students accessing loans, Richard Tice said:Regarding the funding of this, cash is cash. Whether you think that it's cash as a positive in a balance sheet or a bank account, or whether you're borrowing it, it's money. It's cash.As Suella quite rightly said, the amount of money going into student loans, it's all government money, and this government is borrowing vast sums.In terms of Mickey Mouse courses, listen, this has been well-chronicled for many years. Whether it's gender studies, whether it's golf course studies, I think I've seen there's not a necessity. There's not a value in many of these degrees.Now I know that might be uncomfortable to those people who have those qualifications, but the reality is you've got to ask yourself: what are your graduate outcomes looking like? Continue reading...

Exclusive: Federal government notified after whistleblower says controllers have minimal confidence in their ability to handle' rule changes related to second airport

Family relationships remain damaged and there is no clarity on how Sussexes' security concerns have been resolvedJust as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's departure from the UK six years ago came as a complete surprise, so too is their shock announcement they now intend to return.Their unilateral decision could fairly be said to have blind-sided the royals. King Charles was only informed on Sunday and is said not to have been involved in the decision making. No mention was made when Harry, Meghan and their two children visited Charles at his private home at Highgrove last month. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Bridget Phillipson says politicians have helped fuel hatred and that police are not taking violence against women and girls seriously enough

Derailed carriages lifted using two cranes as workers operate under very challenging circumstances'

Prime minister wishes couple well in their move back from the US to a non-royal residence outside London Harry and Meghan: key moments and controversies since US moveSecurity funding for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when they return to live in the UK this month is a private matter", Andy Burnham has said.News of Harry and Meghan's planned return to Britain from the US came as a surprise to many on Wednesday night; King Charles was only informed three days earlier. Continue reading...

Joanna Boydell steps down after widespread criticism over company's handling of guest safety issues

Fashion site also broke rules on labelling by using terms leather' or suede' for synthetic productsThe British online fashion seller Boohoo has been fined 2.3m (2m) by France's consumer watchdog for deceptive practices such as offering fake discounts.The Manchester-based firm, whose parent company renamed itself Debenhams Group last year, was found to have exaggerated the discounts it was offering, giving shoppers a false impression of the savings they were making, according to the directorate-general for competition, consumer affairs and fraud control. Continue reading...

Far-right minister says those convicted in military courts of terror offences will be executed after passing of death penalty law that does not apply to Jewish extremistsIsrael's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has posted a gloating video of the construction of a gallows complex where Palestinians convicted of terror offences - but not Jewish extremists accused of similar crimes - will be hanged.Ben-Givr, who has previously attracted international sanctions and condemnation for his activities, said the new execution site would be equipped with viewing booths for families of victims to watch the hangings. Continue reading...

Nearly a quarter of girls' entries received one of the higher grades against around a fifth of those from boys

Missile and drone attack one of heaviest since war began, with children's hospital and residential areas hit

Overall results slightly better than last year, with share receiving grades 7, 8 and 9 rising by 0.1 of a percentage point to 23.1%

Launches, detected by South Korea and Japan, came after US scaled back exercises with South Korea in apparent overture to Kim Jong-unNorth Korea has launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea, South Korea's military said, a day after Pyongyang shrugged off Donald Trump's order to scale back US military drills with South Korea in an apparent attempt to resume diplomacy.The joint chiefs of staff said the missiles were launched from the region of Pyongyang at around 5pm (08.00 GMT) on Thursday towards North Korea's eastern waters. Continue reading...

Initial report from thick and dense terrain' where Hooper was located was she had been found alive but within 10 minutes a more accurate account' was relayed to police

Prolonged detention of children, insufficient staffing and hazardous damage to buildings are among the ombudsman's concerns

Improvements in fire management however could mitigate increases by more than 70%, study showsWildfires are projected to burn 39% more of Europe by the end of the century even in the best-case scenario for stopping the planet from heating, a study has found, unless action is taken to manage them better.The increase in hot, dry and windy weather that leads to small fires turning into raging infernos is to engulf more of Europe as carbon pollution pushes temperatures higher. In the worst-case scenario the researchers modelled, which would see global heating reach 3.6C above preindustrial levels, the burnt area would almost triple. Continue reading...

South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas says there have still been no detections in poultry or livestock and no mass deaths involving mammals

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Sydney court hears complainant was more than 40 years younger and far less powerful than the shock jock when he started working as his driver

Reports say Duke and Duchess of Sussex intend to relocate from US, with children to start British school in September

Israeli government decides not to pursue criminal proceedings over 2024 triple drone strike that killed Australian Zomi Frankcom and six others

Victorian court of appeal will consider whether triple murder and attempted murder convictions should be quashed

Former archbishop of Canterbury also has awkward questions' for activist Tommy Robinson on his claimed faithA former archbishop of Canterbury has accused Nigel Farage of misusing the UK's Christianity to channel anti-Muslim feeling" and said he also had some awkward questions" for the far-right activist Tommy Robinson.Dr Rowan Williams, who was the archbishop of Canterbury for 10 years until 2012, said there was an inevitable scepticism these days about some claims to religious conviction". Continue reading...

A capacity for despair' forged by political oppression has long been consider a Magyar national trait. But after Orban, writers in the country remind us that melancholy must not always be bleakA lone visitor looks for a garden outside an empty monastery. A morose housekeeper won't let anyone behind the door of her own home. A retired general living alone on a crumbling estate waits 40 years to confront the only friend he ever had. Melancholy, an affinity with oblivion without a concrete cause, suffuses the Hungarian fiction translated for foreign audiences over the past 30 years, from the tortured tales of Sandor Marai to the taut novels of Magda Szabo.In his book In Praise of Melancholy, essayist Laszlo F Foldenyi tells the story of an Englishman who monomanically decides to teach himself Hungarian. For Foldenyi, the commitment to studying a language with 26 cases and with no connection to any other language, from a culture besieged by centuries of invasion, is to embrace melancholy, a seductive capacity for despair". To read Hungarian literature as an outsider, the poet Janos Pilinszky claimed in 1972, is to acquire unique spiritual insights that come from centuries of rootlessness, alienation and strife. Continue reading...

Ben Carroll releases terms of reference for inquiry that will include examining allegations of CFMEU corruption on state government building sites

St Gregory's college says alleged attack on Saturday antithesis of what we stand for and the values that we embrace'

A landslide triggered by the quake had blocked access to the village where Paulina Pobi had lived, leaving her buried under the collapsed remainsAn 84-year-old woman has been discovered alive in the flattened remains of her home three days after a powerful earthquake hit eastern Indonesia, authorities have confirmed.The 7.7-magnitude quake struck off Indonesia's Flores island on Saturday morning, killing at least 73 people, injuring more than 900 people and displacing nearly 60,000 others. Continue reading...

The collapse was caused by a landslide, while local officials say the death toll is likely to rise as recovery efforts continueMore than 100 people have died after an artisanal goldmine at a small village in western Central African Republic (CAR) caved in due to a landslide, local officials and aid workers said on Wednesday.The landslide happened on Tuesday afternoon in the village of Zamboye, about 50km (31 miles) from the town of Baboua and close to the border of Cameroon. Footage on social media appeared to show an avalanche of sand descend on a group of people, likely the miners, and cover them. Continue reading...

Review by paediatricians links child vaping with poor respiratory health such as coughing, wheezing and asthmaYoung people who start vaping risk developing breathing problems and going on to smoke cigarettes, children's doctors have warned.Child vaping is consistently linked with poor respiratory health, such as coughing, wheezing, bronchitis symptoms and asthma exacerbations, while vapes have been shown to act as a gateway to smoking cigarettes, according to one of the most comprehensive reviews of the available evidence so far undertaken by the Royal College of Child and Paediatrics Health. Continue reading...

Andy Burnham promises drive to tackle toxic waste, raise fines and use AI-powered drones to detect illegal activityIllegal dumps in West Yorkshire, Surrey and Kent will be cleared up using taxpayer money, Andy Burnham has announced, as the prime minister promises a new drive to tackle toxic waste.Ministers have identified dumps in Bradford, Runnymede and the Isle of Sheppey, which collectively contain about 22,000 tonnes of illegal waste, to be cleared in the next phase of the government's national clear-up effort. Continue reading...

Officials say all seven people onboard killed, including Telemundo executive and Ecuador intelligence chiefSeven people, including five Americans, were killed when a safari helicopter crashed on Wednesday morning in a remote part of northern Kenya, according to local police and the state department.Among the dead were an executive with Telemundo, the US-based Spanish-language network owned by NBC Universal, and the director of Ecuador's national intelligence service. Continue reading...

Aalim Ahmed, five, fell from 15th-floor window at tower block family had asked to be moved out of, court hearsAn inquest into the death of a five-year-old boy who fell from a 15th-floor window has heard that more measures could have been taken to make it safer.Aalim Ahmed, who was autistic, died when he fell from a kitchen window at a residential block in Plaistow, east London. His father, Makail Ahmed, rushed from the top floor temporary social housing flat and discovered his body shortly before 6am on 16 May 2024. Continue reading...

PM wants to reduce department's stranglehold on public purse and bring long-term thinking to economic policyAndy Burnham is far from the first prime minister to dream of taming the power of the mighty Treasury.Boris Johnson all but forced the resignation of Sajid Javid by handpicking his team; Margaret Thatcher favoured her economic adviser Alan Walters over Nigel Lawson, prompting the latter's furious resignation; and Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's power struggle was the stuff of Whitehall legend. Continue reading...

UCL researchers warn repeated exam attempts may dent students' confidence and raise risk of dropping outForcing teenagers who fail GCSEs into multiple resits has a negative impact on their mental health, according to research to be published as pupils receive their grades on Thursday.The study by academics at University College London (UCL) compared the mental wellbeing of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland who failed to reach a grade 4 or equivalent in maths or English GCSEs - and found that only those in England, where resits are mandatory, showed significantly lower wellbeing. Continue reading...

Officers still investigating deaths of Zeina Alayn, Hassan El-Khawas and daughter Sara El-Khawas at Shoreham-by-SeaA father, mother and their teenage daughter who died off the Sussex coast on Tuesday have been identified.Sussex police named the victims as Hassan El-Khawas, 55, his partner, Zeina Alayn, 37, and their 14-year-old daughter, Sara El-Khawas. A younger girl who was also part of the family is in hospital in a critical condition. She has not been named. Continue reading...

President says he plans to meet dictator this year but Kim Yo-jong says Washington remains Pyongyang's enemyDonald Trump has said he is planning to meet North Korea's Kim Jong-un later this year, though the reclusive leader's younger sister cast doubt on their communications and dampened hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough between them.Trump, who also claimed North Korea had 57 nuclear weapons, had suggested he and Kim were holding secret negotiations on Tuesday after announcing the US would downgrade its participation in military exercises held by South Korea, a US ally. Asked whether Kim had responded to his request for a conversation, Trump said: Yeah, he has." Continue reading...

PM says public money alone won't solve problem but we did it in the pandemic, we can do it again'

Military orders criminal investigation into deaths of five-year-old and six family members in Gaza in 2024The Israeli military admitted on Wednesday its troops had opened fire on a car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab and six family members in Gaza in 2024, saying it had ordered a criminal investigation into the killing.The killing of Hind and her family was one of the most high profile of a series of incidents involving civilian casualties during the first months of the Gaza conflict which prompted international outrage. Continue reading...

The prime minister has announced a 442m plan to get rough sleepers off the streets by Christmas. It solidifies tackling homelessness as a central policy for Andy Burnham's government, and gives voters a measure by which to judge his success - although without a concrete target for ministers to hit.Nosheen Iqbal speaks to social policy editor Patrick Butler - watch on YouTube Continue reading...

Mykhailo Fedorov's blistering critique comes at a time of growing pressure for democratic renewal in UkraineFor more than a month, demonstrators have gathered in Ivan Franko Square outside Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office. The protesters have been chanting a name - not that of Ukraine's embattled president but that of the man he recently sacked as defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov. On Sunday evening, 2,000 people marched along Khreshchatyk, Kyiv's main boulevard, waving cardboard banners in support of their ousted hero.Zelenskyy has refused to reinstate Fedorov, who during his six months in the job was widely seen as an effective and reforming figure. On Wednesday, Ukraine's parliament, the Rada, voted to approve a successor as defence minister, Yevhen Khmara. The move shows that Fedorov has been shut out from government permanently, and confirms his transition from trusted insider and Zelenskyy loyalist to a potent political opponent. Continue reading...

Senator Jon Ossoff, who is up for re-election, came up with arguably the standout line of the midterm elections so farHello there,Jon Ossoff really struck a nerve. That much is clear. Continue reading...

Elections in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming provide a sense of how voters are feeling ahead of November's midtermsPrimaries in Florida, Alaska and Wyoming held on Tuesday provided the latest view into how voters are feeling ahead of November's US midterm elections.One candidate aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) netted an extraordinary win while another was defeated handily. Donald Trump's handpicked candidates received a mixed reception from voters. In Alaska, voters chose their fighters for one of the year's marquee US Senate races, and in Florida, extremism remained alive and well among Republicans. Continue reading...

Owner of firm behind Temu Range Rover' will open facility in Bedfordshire in autumnThe Chinese carmaker behind the irreverently nicknamed Temu Range Rover" is plotting further UK expansion with a major research and development centre in England.Chery, which makes the Jaecoo and Omoda car brands, said the launch of a new R&D site was the next step in our long-term plan" for Britain as it also moves towards manufacturing its cars in the UK. Continue reading...

PM pledges to get rough sleepers off streets for Christmas but issues rallying call' for community and voluntary organisations to help with planAndy Burnham has admitted government funding may not fully be enough" to achieve his aim of offering a place to stay to every rough sleeper by Christmas, as he made a rallying call" for communities to get behind his plan.Speaking on a visit to the north-east of England, the prime minister said:The government money itself may not fully be enough. So I am saying, putting the call out to community and voluntary organisations - we're at one here in Newcastle today, doing fantastic work.But we're saying to the wider community, voluntary, and faith sector: come on, let's get behind this. Let's show what Britain can do when we all pull in the same direction.We did it in the pandemic, we can do it again, and it's a rallying call, really, that I'm putting out there today with a lot of government money behind it.We did bring the numbers right down, but because we were the only area providing a high level of support, more people started to travel and it became difficult. Continue reading...

Madrid government changes stance after previously saying anyone who entered territory illegally would be sent back

An AfD win in next month's state election in Saxony-Anhalt would shatter a decades-long political consensus and reverberate throughout the EU Don't get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereIn just over two weeks' time, Saxony-Anhalt - home to historic timber-framed houses, the dramatic Harz mountains and the birthplace of Martin Luther - will hold what could prove one of the most significant state elections in Germany's postwar history.The vote, on 6 September, could see a far-right party whose local branch is officially classified by the country's domestic intelligence service as confirmed rightwing extremist" appoint a state premier and govern a state alone, for the first time. Continue reading...

Expected quarterly rise if 4% highest likely to wipe out Burnham's VAT cut on electricity billsHousehold energy bills across Great Britain are expected to climb to a three-year high this winter as the impact of the Middle East war wipes out Andy Burnham's tax cut on electricity bills.The government's cap on energy prices is on track to rise by 4% from this October to the equivalent of 1,729 a year through the last three months of 2026, which could hit struggling households especially hard this winter, according to analysis by the energy consultancy Cornwall Insight. Continue reading...

US president cancelled planned tariff imposition just hours before it was to come into force. Plus, why are people so obsessed with television vampires?Good morning. Donald Trump has paused his threatened punitive tariff on Canada just hours before it was due to come into effect. After Trump's announcement, the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, said substantial progress" had been made towards a trade deal, but more work was needed.Tuesday's 11th-hour backdown comes after a contentious year for the two countries, with the longstanding alliance strained by tit-for-tat tariffs and online broadsides in which Trump has mused about wanting to turn Canada into a US state.How much trade do the two countries do? Historically, Canada and the US have been strong trading partners. In 2024, trade between the countries was estimated to be roughly $909bn, according to the office of the US trade representative.What else happened in Florida's elections? Byron Donalds, a congressman backed by Trump, won the Republican nomination for governor in the race to succeed Ron DeSantis. Donalds trounced three reasonably prominent Republican rivals, including Jay Collins, DeSantis's handpicked lieutenant governor. If he wins the November election, as he is expected to do in the conservative stronghold, Donalds would become the first Black governor in any southern US state. Continue reading...

David Morens confessed to concealing government documents linked to grant research fundingA former adviser to infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiring to evade public records laws and conceal government documents related to grant research funding and the Covid-19 pandemic.David Morens, who had worked under Fauci as a senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the pandemic, entered his plea, to a conspiracy charge during a hearing in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland. Continue reading...

Trump administration put sanctions on the international criminal court's president and a senior trial lawyerThe international criminal court on Wednesday condemned the latest US sanctions targeting senior ICC staff, including its president, as a flagrant attack" on the global tribunal's independence and vowed to continue seeking justice for atrocities around the world.The state department announced Tuesday that it had hit ICC president Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and ICC senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, who is from Senegal, with sanctions that freeze any assets they have in US jurisdictions or come into contact with the US financial system. Continue reading...