by Alexandra Topping, Political correspondent on (#76P7G)
David Lammy's decision to increase minimum sentence for domestic murder victims follows years of tireless lobbyingDavid Lammy had gone quiet. Sitting in his ministerial office in the Palace of Westminster, the justice secretary had just been presented with pictures of women killed by their partners in their own homes, by their grieving mothers.As she put the photographs in front of him, Carole Gould explained that her 17-year-old daughter, Ellie, was killed by fellow sixth-former Thomas Griffiths the day after she ended their relationship in 2019. Julie Devey, who was joining the call remotely, showed a photograph of her daughter, Poppy Devey Waterhouse, who was 24 when she was murdered by her ex-boyfriend, Joe Atkinson, on 14 December 2018. Continue reading...
Study reveals extreme heat causes sharp drop with knock-on effect for pollination of food crops in following yearsWe know heatwaves have serious health consequences for humans, but what about other species? A study has shown they severely diminish bees' fertility, with significant implications for the pollination of food crops in the following years.Prof James Gilbert of the University of Hull his and colleagues simulated a three-day UK heatwave in the lab and measured its effect on solitary red mason bees, compared with those kept under control conditions of an ordinary summer. Continue reading...
Typical bill will surge by 220 a year from Wednesday, forcing 13.5m homes to spend over 10% of income on fuelMillions of households in Great Britain will be pushed into fuel poverty after months of volatility on the global gas markets as energy bills rise by more than 220 a year under the government's price cap from Wednesday.As the cap on gas and electricity rates rises to the equivalent of 1,862 a year, the number of households forced to spend more than 10% of their income on energy bills will increase to 13.5m from almost 11.3m in April, according to fuel poverty campaigners. Continue reading...
Singer has likened live show to theatre rather than a conventional concert but fans have criticised the performances and lack of crowd interactionLily Allen has defended the live tour of her latest album West End Girl, after fans complained about feeling short-changed by the 55-minute shows that have no crowd interaction.Allen is currently on the UK leg of the world tour for the album that was inspired by her divorce from the actor David Harbour. The show sees her perform the 45-minute album in its entirety, without speaking to the crowd or performing any of her back catalogue. Continue reading...
President's crypto ventures have eclipsed in revenue much of his property portfolio that took decades to accumulateDonald Trump raked in more than $1bn from his crypto businesses last year, a federal filing released Monday shows, giving a substantial boost to his annual income.In his second term, the president and his family have heavily invested in digital money and various crypto businesses with Trump announcing at the start of 2025 that he wanted the US to be the crypto capital of the world". Trump's crypto earnings are in addition to profit from his legal settlements, real estate and royalty deals. Continue reading...
Two sides yet to have face-to-face meeting since signing deal to reopen strait of HormuzTalks at an indirect level between US and Iranian officials over unfreezing at least $6bn Iranian assets will recommence on Wednesday in Doha, Iran has said. The two sides are yet to have their first face-to-face meeting since signing a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait of Hormuz.US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Qatar on Tuesday for talks covering regional issues including the Iran ceasefire and Lebanon, but Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, stressed these were with Qatari mediators. They are not here for their negotiations with the Iranians," he said. Continue reading...
Local officials said preliminary reports showed the centre was unregistered and operating inside a privately owned residential buildingFourteen children died after the roof of a tutoring centre collapsed in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday, rescue officials have said, as authorities opened the way for a possible negligence investigation.Punjab's emergency service said rescuers found children and a 30-year-old female teacher under the rubble of the private after-school facility. The children killed were aged five to 16 with most below nine. Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent on (#76P20)
Doctors say survey shows need for morning-after pill to be available at corner shops, petrol stations and supermarketsAlmost half of the UK population believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception on a Sunday, while nearly two-thirds think they would struggle after 10pm, according to a survey.The research, carried out by YouGov, found that only 7% of people believe it would be difficult to access emergency contraception during the daytime on a weekday. Continue reading...
by Anna Bawden Health and social affairs corresponden on (#76P1Y)
Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome is underdiagnosed and inconsistenly managed, according to NiceUp to 4 million women with irregular periods should be investigated for polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, according to new NHS guidance.PMOS, previously known as polycystic ovarian syndrome, is believed to affect up to 13% of reproductive age women, the World Health Organization estimates. Continue reading...
Visit to monarch planned for 6 September and will take Jamaica's mission for reparatory justice to the next level'Jamaican officials will travel to the UK in September to formally lodge an unprecedented petition with King Charles to seek legal guidance on their slavery reparations claim from Britain, the country's government announced on Tuesday.Speaking in the parliament of the Caribbean nation, Olivia Grange, the culture minister, confirmed that the trip was planned for 6 September, and was intended to take Jamaica's mission for reparatory justice to the next level. Continue reading...
by Julian Borger Senior international correspondent on (#76NZD)
European powers resist Trump administration's pick for high representative after incumbent pushed outDiplomats from the US and Europe have been unable to resolve their differences and agree on a new top international envoy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in a standoff which has become a transatlantic test of wills over influence in the Balkans.A meeting in Sarajevo to select a new high representative, a post with far-reaching powers, ended without a compromise, in a spat that has undermined western cohesion in the region in the Trump era. Continue reading...
Critics call proposed limits on asylum claims a quick fix that will create long-term chaos'More than half of the people whose asylum and visa claims will be rejected under tightened human rights laws will continue to live in the UK, according to the Home Office's own assessment.Documents released on Tuesday show that plans to set new limits on article 8 of the European convention on human rights are expected to result in another 11,700 people having their claims rejected. Continue reading...
by Sam Levin in Los Angeles and Lex McMenamin in New on (#76NZG)
Justices upheld laws in West Virginia and Idaho, boosting similar restrictions in 25 other statesTransgender youth athletes have vowed to keep playing sports and fighting for equal access to teams after the US supreme court ruled in favor of laws banning their participation.The court's conservative supermajority on Tuesday upheld laws in West Virginia and Idaho prohibiting trans girls from participating in women's teams, finding the laws were constitutional. Continue reading...
The new PM must balance the security budget and other urgent spending priorities, with little room for manoeuvreKeir Starmer's defence investment plan leaves behind spending problems that his successor will not be able to avoid.Military budgets will be well short of the UK's Nato commitments by the end of the decade, and European allies and a combustible White House are likely to notice. Continue reading...
Winchester court hears accusations of offences by former petty officer Allan Grimson against males as young as 14A former Royal Navy petty officer, jailed for life 25 years ago for murdering two young men, sexually assaulted four other boys and men in the same era, a jury has been told.Allan Grimson was jailed in 2001 for battering Nicholas Wright, 18, and Sion Jenkins, 20, to death at his flat above a parade of shops in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 1997 and 1998. Continue reading...
by Clavel Rangel in Caracas, Sam Jones and agencies on (#76NWG)
Preliminary analysis of satellite data suggests magnitude of natural disaster could dwarf official estimatesMore than 58,000 buildings may have been damaged and destroyed by the twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela last week, according to a preliminary analysis of satellite data that suggests the scale of the destruction could dwarf official estimates.Last Wednesday's back-to-back quakes - which measured magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 - killed at least 1,943 people, injured more than 10,571, and left tens of thousands missing amid the rubble. The UN migration agency has said that up to 6.8 million people could be affected by the disasters, and would require shelter, water, sanitation, healthcare and essential relief items. Continue reading...
Tournament's serving machine can deliver balls in the style of anyone from John McEnroe to Elina SvitolinaCould you return Emma Raducanu's 110mph serve, or receive a 145mph stroke from Andy Murray? What about Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard's 153mph torpedo, which broke Wimbledon records last year?This year's tournament attenders have had the opportunity to try their luck on court, facing off against a robotic serving machine rather than their tennis heroes. Continue reading...
The vessel, thought to have been carrying 10 people, did not issue a mayday call before sinking in the strait of GeorgiaSearch teams in Canada have launched a recovery effort for six people believed to have drowned in a bizarre" sinking of a fishing charter off the coast of Vancouver.Police and rescue crews praised a couple who were passing in their yacht for making a critical mayday call and saving stranded passengers by pulling them onboard their craft. Continue reading...
New Jersey's Tom Kean Jr, who last voted in March, says he was diagnosed with depression after entering hospitalTom Kean Jr, a Republican congressman who disappeared from the Capitol for nearly four months with little explanation, re-emerged on Tuesday and said that he was absent while dealing with depression.Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression," Kean said in a speech on the floor of the House Tuesday morning. Continue reading...
by Dharna Noor, Seán Clarke and Paul MacInnes on (#76NQ8)
Nine of the group stage games played in severe heat, analysis finds, as union points to lessons for the whole sportNine matches in the World Cup group stage were played amid potentially dangerous heat and humidity, a Guardian analysis shows, as global players' union Fifpro warned that heat would have to play a bigger part" in the sport's future scheduling decisions.The findings come as likely record-breaking heat and humidity will hit the midwest and eastern US this week and could make conditions even more challenging for players and fans at some games. Continue reading...
by Ajit Niranjan Europe environment correspondent on (#76NQ9)
Past and present leaders of wealthy nations such as UK and Germany have argued their actions are insignificantOn first hearing, it is a position that sounds reasonable. When our share of global emissions is less than 1%," Rishi Sunak argued when he was the UK prime minister in 2023, how can it be right that British citizens are now being told to sacrifice even more than others?"Sunak is not the only world leader to have cited such figures while delaying cuts to pollution. In 2019, Scott Morrison, Australia's then prime minister, used his country's 1.3% of global emissions to reject any suggestion Australia was not doing our bit" on climate breakdown. In July, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, pointed to his country's 2% share of global emissions while supporting loopholes in European climate targets. A few months later the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, followed suit, flagging the EU's 6% share. Continue reading...
Financing options to be investigated for first two subsea projects that would link Mainland with Yell and UnstCouncillors on Shetland have backed plans to build up to four tunnels to link some of the largest and most populated islands, after years of isolation and decline.The council voted on Tuesday to investigate financing options for the first two subsea tunnels, which would link Shetland's Mainland with the two large northerly islands of Yell and Unst. Continue reading...
Our European environment correspondent Ajit Niranjan answered your questions on the climate after reporting on the shocking heatwave that continues to scorch its way across Europesloth_101 asks: Most reports still talk about this issue in terms of records"? Technically, that might be correct but it feels like it's missing urgency of the matter. Records" are meant to be broken. These records clearly are not. Isn't there a better way to describe it? For example, how climate change" is often replaced with climate emergency" or climate breakdown"?I had never thought about it like that before but I can see how it can be read that way. It is partly a limitation of the language and partly an issue of accuracy. Ideally, I would spell it out - Germany has been hit by heat it has never seen before" - but, because we are talking about measurements since records began, rather than over a longer period of history. I prefer to speak of record-breaking" heat. The urgency can still be conveyed by describing the damage that hot weather does to our bodies and stating the death toll, which comes to tens of thousands of people across Europe in a typical summer. Each year heat kills 10 ten times more people than murderers in Europe.So far there has been fairly little evidence of this happening. Far-right parties talk a lot about migrants and climate, but almost exclusively as separate issues. One recent exception is Switzerland, where a referendum this month on capping the country's population at 10 million people linked the impact of migration on the Alpine nation's natural resources, but the link here was more about environmental degradation than climate breakdown.Some data suggests migrants tend to pollute about as much as the native-born population - flying more but driving less - so there is no obvious avenue by which they would hold foreigners responsible for increased temperatures. What seems more likely is that, as temperatures rise to intolerable levels in North Africa and the Middle East, increased migration to Europe will force far-right parties to confront the paradox that the migration they want to stop will be exacerbated by the fossil fuel pollution they support. Continue reading...
Government hopes for 30% of city's fleet to be electric by 2030, in move hailed as gamechanger' on air pollutionThe unruly chaos of Delhi's roads would be unrecognisable without the rickshaws and scooters that zip through India's capital in their millions, emitting toxic fumes in their wake. But now, ambitious policies aim to give the city's most recognisable vehicles an environmental makeover.On Monday, Delhi's government announced plans to eventually ban petrol scooters, motorbikes and autorickshaws in favour of those running on electricity, in an attempt to bring down dangerously high pollution levels in the city by the end of the decade. Continue reading...
Decision overturns decades of precedent curbing executive power. Plus how one man survived eight days lost in the PacificGood morning. Yesterday the US supreme court handed Donald Trump - and all future presidents - the power to fire leaders of independent agencies or commissions, overturning 90 years of court precedent curbing executive power.While Trump celebrated the ruling on Truth Social as a big win", labor advocates, unions, and consumer advocacy groups criticized the decision on the case, Trump v Slaughter, and warned of the long-term impact on democracy in the US. Rebecca Slaughter, the federal trade commissioner fired last March, said she was profoundly disappointed about today's decision". Our columnist, Moira Donegan, says the court's verdict has again undermined the power of Congress.What have lawyers said about the verdict? Stephen Vladeck, a Georgetown law professor, wrote: There's no sugar-coating [it]. It's an enormously important ruling. It's a huge win for Trump/the executive. And it's going to have massive ramifications for the functioning of the government long after Trump is gone."What other decisions did the court make? The supreme court sided against national Republicans and Trump's administration to allow mail-in ballots that arrive after election day to be counted, upholding the law in more than a dozen states. It also ruled that law enforcement's use of sprawling warrants that sweep up smartphone location data requires privacy protections under the fourth amendment, in a boost to critics who view their use as an unconstitutional dragnet.How did Trump and Carroll react? The US president wrote on Truth Social: Surprisingly, the supreme court declined to review' a Fake Case brought against me". Roberta Kaplan, Carroll's attorney, also issued a statement in response to the decision, saying: Today's supreme court decision affirms once and for all the jury's unanimous verdict that President Donald J Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E Jean Carroll." Continue reading...
Beijing, whose stockpiles and renewables industry allowed it to withstand energy shock, is now gaining from global solar and EV pushChina has emerged as the sole winner in Asia from the strait of Hormuz crisis, according to a report published on Tuesday.The report by the Asia Group thinktank concluded that China had weathered the storm of the global commodities crisis resulting from the closure of the Middle Eastern waterway, and also stood to gain from the economic and geopolitical trends sparked by the wider conflict. Continue reading...
by Natasha May and Vee Intarakratug in Pattaya on (#76NDS)
Police say there are similarities but no evidence of links between Thunchanok Donhomla's alleged murder and two other deaths in past two years in same region
It feels as if we are being abandoned to our fate by those in power, with further extreme heat expected next weekIn the summer of 2019, I had a fun" idea for a piece. Paris was due to experience its hottest day in history, and I proposed travelling around the city trying out its various cooling-off strategies to see if they would help. Reader, it was not fun and they did not help.Last week, Paris experienced its worst period of catastrophic heat on record, worse than that day in 2019, and worse than in 2003, when a sustained heatwave killed nearly 15,000 people. I now live in a neighbourhood in Seine-Saint-Denis, the poorest departement in mainland France and one of the most exposed to extreme heat, and, to add to the complications, am seven months pregnant. So how did my week go this time? Continue reading...
Hospitality trade bodies' data published as celebrity chefs and restaurateurs launch campaign for VAT cutNearly a quarter of UK pubs, bars and restaurants are losing money, according to new survey data that came as a group of celebrity chefs and business owners stepped up their campaign for a sector-specific VAT cut.Spearheaded by chef Tom Kerridge, leading figures in the hospitality sector are calling for VAT on the industry to be cut from 20% to 10%. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#76NCP)
Energy system operator says sum needed to deliver clean power targets while meeting rising demand is up by 50%The cost of rewiring Great Britain's electricity networks through the 2030s is now 50% higher than before the Labour government came to power, and could reach almost 90bn in the next decade, according to the energy system operator.Building new high-voltage transmission lines and infrastructure to connect low-carbon energy to the grid in the 2030s was initially forecast by the energy system operator to cost 58bn. Continue reading...
Simon Dubbins to announce he has secured required number of nominations to challenge Sharon GrahamSharon Graham, the leader of the UK's second biggest union, Unite, is to face a challenge as general secretary over claims the union is not doing enough to challenge the rise of Reform UK.Simon Dubbins, who started out as a print worker and has been an international director with the union since 2008, will announce on Tuesday that he has secured the required number of nominations to mount a challenge. Continue reading...
Estimated 5.3m households on standard tariffs without smart meters risk being overcharged for some of June usageMillions of Britons could pay higher energy bills than they need to if they do not submit a meter reading before the price cap rises on Wednesday.The estimated 5.3 million households on standard tariffs who do not have a smart meter have been urged to take action before the new unit rates for gas and electricity take effect. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: As the home secretary details reforms to the asylum system, a look at the challenges Labour faces - and what better story could be told about immigrationGood morning. Last night home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, set out further planned reforms to the asylum system. A new means-tested scheme, which will see asylum seekers ordered to pay about 10,000 each for their state-funded living costs or be denied settled status in the UK, has been condemned by refugee charities for placing a tax on refugees fleeing war, torture and famine.Over the weekend, briefings suggested Mahmood also plans to speed up the opening of safe and legal routes to claim asylum, like employer sponsorship, as she bids to quell backbench critics, including former deputy leader Angela Rayner - a belated acknowledgment that the absence of such routes has forced many to make the perilous Channel crossing in those small boats that have become a totem for public and political anxieties around immigration.UK politics | Andy Burnham has set out his blueprint to transform the UK with a promise to improve living standards and restore faith in politics through the biggest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen".Finance | Crypto firms operating in the UK will be forced to prove they can weather market shocks and hold capital against risky assets as part of sweeping new rules announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).Germany | Four women and two men have been killed in a shooting at a youth welfare facility in northern Germany, police said. Two people including the suspected shooter were arrested.Heatwave | The heatwave wreaking chaos across Europe is a dramatic warning" to reject climate naysayers, a European Commission vice-president says.World news | A strong aftershock has rattled northern Venezuela, sending terrified residents racing on to the streets five days after the twin earthquakes that killed 1,719 people, left tens of thousands missing and triggered a growing humanitarian emergency. Continue reading...
British bike maker says cycling market is recovering from sales slump and investments will add new expertiseThe French sports gear retailer Decathlon and a Chinese investment group that was an early backer of Labubu soft toys have bought stakes in the British folding bike maker Brompton, as its boss said the cycling market was recovering from a slump in sales.Decathlon has acquired a 10% stake in the manufacturer while BA Capital has bought 5% in a deal understood to collectively be worth about 18m. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#76NB2)
Outright bans may have unintended negative consequences for young people, University College London report warnsSchool smartphone bans are overly simplistic" and are not supported by young people who regard them as punitive" rather than helpful, according to research by University College London.The UCL report was published on Tuesday, the day after a statutory ban on smartphones in schools in England came into force, making individual schools and trusts legally responsible for being phone-free throughout the day. Continue reading...
Guo Wengui, who gained fans for criticising China's Communist party, was found guilty in 2024 on nine charges including money launderingA US federal court has sentenced exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui to 30 years in prison, after he was convicted of defrauding thousands of people out of more than $1bn.In July 2024, a jury unanimously found Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, guilty on nine of 12 charges, including securities offences, wire fraud and money laundering. The FBI arrested Guo, who is in his fifties, in March 2023 at his luxury Manhattan apartment overlooking Central Park. Continue reading...
Federal court judge rules Ofir Birenbaum breached parts of settlement with Middle Eastern restaurant reached after incident when working with Daily Telegraph
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