World news | The Guardian

Authorities in Delaware tackle cluster with vaccination and contract tracing - but field has been weakened by cutsMeasles outbreaks are igniting throughout the United States as the nation passes the highest case count in 30 years - putting greater pressure on state and local health departments and highlighting the importance of early identification and quick action.The US has officially surpassed last year's tally of measles cases, reaching 2,371 confirmed infections by the end of July. Those numbers have been driven by clusters in Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah - but in times of high transmission, outbreaks elsewhere become more likely. And with decreasing vaccination rates across the country, these sparks are falling on increasingly dry timber. Continue reading...

Climate scientist urges better planning as southern England had just 1% of long-term average rainfall last monthHalf of England and the whole of Wales are officially in drought and July is set to be the driest month on record as extreme heat intensified by the climate crisis continues to grip the UK and Europe this summer.The announcements this week by England's Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales mark the third such event over the past five years, and come in the wake of four record-breaking heatwaves since May which have fuelled huge wildfires and left farmers, wildlife and protected habitats running out of water. Continue reading...

Investors scramble to make sense of a shock Chinese challenge to the dominance of western chipmakersEven for the rollercoaster world of AI, last week was particularly volatile as investors scrambled to keep up with developments that threatened the dominance of the largest western chipmakers.It began with a double whammy. On Monday, the Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT floated on the Shanghai stock market, soaring by 466% in value to 3.3tn yuan (365bn). Continue reading...

David Crisafulli says Queenslanders will enjoy for generations' as opponents point to lack of detail

Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government's plans for new homesThe government's housebuilding agenda is hitting the stark reality of a lack of water and crumbling infrastructure across the east and south-east of England.Half the country was declared to be in serious drought this week, for the second consecutive year, with the Environment Agency warning of dire consequences for the economy, environment and wildlife. Continue reading...

The EU is using a currency revamp as an opportunity to be less neutral and try some finely balanced identity-buildingIs Europe best represented by the bold intellect of Marie Curie, the sprawling imagination of Miguel de Cervantes and the intense musical genius of Ludwig van Beethoven? Or by a migrating stork and a bee-eater, swooping across borderless plains and enjoying freedom of movement across European countries?The quest to settle this issue has engaged a surprising number of people across the continent, after more than 6 million people voted in a survey within just a week of its launch to determine whether the newly redesigned euro bank notes should depict either cultural figures or birds and waterways. Continue reading...

Security lapse leaves sensitive information and contact details of 51 government officials exposed for 40 hoursThe public body in charge of the UK's state investments has been pushed to improve its internal security after a data breach left high-level management information" publicly accessible for nearly two days.UK Government Investments (UKGI), the agency that manages the taxpayers' interest in a swathe of companies including Channel 4 and the Post Office, said the security failure also left more than 50 government officials' personal details exposed for nearly 40 hours. Continue reading...

Police chief say shooter found dead after very chaotic scene' near busy shopping area in Twin FallsThree people were killed and seven more were injured, some critically, in a shooting at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in southern Idaho on Saturday afternoon, a Twin Falls city spokesperson said.Police who responded to the shooting found the body of the suspected gunman in an area near the restaurant, Twin Falls city public information officer Josh Palmer said. He did not know if the suspect was included in the fatality count. Continue reading...

Australians bought EVs and hybrids at nearly same rate as petrol cars between April and June, Australian Automobile Association data shows

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused incalculable harm' by infiltrating groups that posed no threatAn undercover police unit that spied on tens of thousands of political activists had to be shut down amid severe criticisms and recriminations, the spycops public inquiry has heard.Jon Boutcher, a senior police officer who took over responsibility for the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) unit, concluded within months that it had to be wound up because it was conducting unjustified surveillance and was badly run. Continue reading...

Exclusive: At a launch site in the Ukrainian countryside, members of the elite Magyar's Birds' brigade are turning Russia's vast size into a weaknessSparrows were cheeping as the sun set over a field of tall yellow sunflowers when a moped-like growl suddenly disturbed the evening calm. The noise rose, dipped, and rose again. Lt Col Ray - a Ukrainian commander with the 414th aviation brigade - took cover in a leafy ditch.Seconds later a Ukrainian drone roared into a mauve sky. It jerked upwards at a 45-degree angle, orange flames fizzing, and then motored serenely onwards. The flying object resembled a sleek grey biplane with a wooden propeller and tail. It left behind clouds of billowing black smoke and a whiff of gunpowder. Continue reading...

President claims delay is subject to being able to rapidly make a deal' as intervention by Saudi crown prince is revealed and Iran warns neighboursDonald Trump said on Saturday night that the US would hold off on any new strikes on Iran provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached - marking the president's latest climbdown from extravagant threats to hit the Tehran regime hard.The Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Saturday to express concerns about his strike plans, it was reported. Trump's reversal also came after Iran threatened to retaliate decisively against its neighbours in the event of US strikes, while Kuwait reported being hit by Iranian drones on Saturday and two ships were attacked off Oman in the strait of Hormuz. Continue reading...

Activists in the region say politicians regard LGBTQ+ people as the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power'A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the promotion" of homosexuality. Niger criminalised sexual relations with a person of the same sex" in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country. Continue reading...

Community members concerned about loss of community green space and areas of cultural importance. This blog is now closed

More than 20 people injured in explosion near Italian restaurant on Saturday night, authorities sayA homemade bomb carried by a woman killed three people and injured at least 21 in an explosion near a restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday evening, authorities said.The explosion occurred just before 8pm close to an Italian restaurant located in one of Moscow's seven Stalin-era skyscrapers at Kudrinskaya Square, the police said. Continue reading...

PM argues for codified model of decentralisation that would fundamentally change centuries-old workings of stateAndy Burnham has said his programme of devolution strengthens the case for a written constitution for the UK, a move that would fundamentally alter the workings of the state that have developed over centuries.The prime minister has long believed the UK's antiquated" political system needs a dramatic overhaul if opportunity is to be shared equally across the country. Continue reading...

Aircraft crashes into field after departing from nearby city of Pisco, according to local authoritiesPolice in Peru report that 13 people, among them foreign tourists, have been killed in a plane crash in southern Peru, near the Nazca Lines.Local authorities in Nazca confirmed that 11 tourists and two pilots died when the Cessna Grand Caravan crashed in Pueblo Viejo, approximately 4 miles (6km) from the city of Nazca and roughly 12km from the Nazca Lines site. Continue reading...

Divisions remain in the bloc over mass crossing of migrants into Spanish territory in north AfricaThe EU is to hold an urgent meeting of interior ministers on Tuesday amid continued divisions in the bloc over the arrival of more than 50,000 migrants in the Spanish territory of Ceuta in north Africa.The decision was taken by officials representing EU member states and Frontex border agency experts at what was described as a sobering" meeting on Saturday. Continue reading...

Police also released notes received from presumed abductors of mother of Today anchor Savannah GuthrieThe family of Nancy Guthrie issued a new appeal on Saturday for information on the whereabouts of their missing grandmother, six months after she disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, and a day after local investigators released two purported ransom notes.Six months ago, someone took her out of her bed in the dead of night. We have lived every moment, every breath, and every heartbeat in agony and despair ever since," a post on Instagram said. Continue reading...

Not a single person reached mainland Spain or rest of EU,' says European Commission president, after Spanish PM condemned selfish, polarising' reaction of some countriesBack to Ukraine, where nine people were killed in Kyiv this morning from a Russian missile and drone attack.Damage was reported in seven districts of the capital, according to Ukrainian officials, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying fires broke out across the city and residential buildings, a school and infrastructure sites were hit. Continue reading...

After declaring anti-weaponization' fund dead', Trump reverses and says he'll revive it despite Senate oppositionThe US Senate judiciary committee has scheduled a meeting early next week to consider Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general, as Donald Trump promised to revive the controversial $1.8bn anti-weaponization" fund.The meeting, set for Tuesday, comes as Blanche's confirmation has stalled over a dispute between the president and outgoing Republican senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who are seeking written confirmation that the justice department would not establish the proposed fund. Continue reading...

At least five taken to hospital and about 300 evacuated in strongest quake to hit southern Italian region in 40 yearsAt least 26 people have been injured after a 4.7-magnitude earthquake rocked a region near Naples, in southern Italy.The quake, which occurred at 7.46pm on Friday night, caused power outages, disrupted public transport and damaged a pier in Campi Flegrei, the site of Europe's largest volcanic crater. Continue reading...

Other members of expedition led by world-renowned climber on Broad Peak have also died, climbing company saysA world-renowned Nepali mountaineer and former UK Special Forces member has died after being among 11 climbers caught in a deadly avalanche on Pakistan's Broad Peak.Nirmal Purja was killed leading an expedition of 10 other people on the world's 12th-highest mountain when an avalanche struck at around noon on Thursday. Continue reading...

Texts reveal that singer and Celeste Rivas Hernandez had been in touch stretching back to when she was 11 years oldThe rising pop singer D4vd and 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez were in the throes of a clandestine relationship months before her mangled and decomposing body turned up last September stuffed in an impounded car registered to the musician.D4vd, born David Anthony Burke, is set to stand trial for murder, child sexual abuse and mutilation of human remains in connection to the teenager's death. Continue reading...

Nationwide actions seek to counter view that talking about climate crisis distracts from affordability messagingThis summer, torrential rains have washed away Texas neighborhoods, dangerous heat has blanketed swaths of the country, and smoke from Canadian wildfires has choked communities as far south as Florida.Research makes clear that global warming is making extreme weather events more frequent and severe. Yet the climate crisis has largely disappeared from the political agenda, with many Democrats who once described it as an existential threat now shying away from talking about it. Continue reading...

Britons move away from trend of grey paving and pristine lawns in an embrace of colour, with lavender a top choiceIf you manage to spot a garden in bloom this summer, beyond the strips of bleached and torched grass, there may be one colour you see more than any other: purple, the horticultural hue of the season.Plants such as lavender, salvias and catmint are in vogue, according to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), which conducted extensive research into the colours Britons best love to see in their gardens. Continue reading...

Some in Dover say their town is being exploited by content creators and politicians, but others claim there is a genuine problemIf you believe rightwing influencers and politicians, Dover and the wider Kent coast has been the site of an invasion" for years now. And, for an online audience of millions, they and their camera crews have been the vanguard in the nation's defence.Indeed, if you believe all you see on the algorithms of amateur Channel watchers, the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, braved a hail of French gunfire as he took to the water in a fishing boat this week; an attempt by the French authorities, he suggested, to deter him in his mission of highlighting the small boats crisis. Continue reading...

The measure will impact people travelling by plane or boat between the two countriesSpanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez is now in Ceuta, accompanied by interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.He first visited the Tarajal border crossing, and is now talking to officials from local authorities, border and police services. Continue reading...

Some have called it S&M', but partnership with Ann Summers is less a scandal than another step in a century of evolving underwear trends, experts sayThe news that Marks & Spencer is selling Ann Summers crotchless knickers on their website has been greeted - as might be expected - with outrage online, being described as everything from tawdry" to S & M".But it could be this is just the latest evolution in what the UK's biggest underwear retailer has available for the smalls drawer. In recent years, the store has sold vastly different options through its own products, ranging from full-brief knickers to thongs, period knickers and those that can be used by women who wear stomas. The introduction of other brands in clothing came five years ago, with underwear included. Ann Summers - which is selling bras and chemises as well as knickers on the M&S website - lines up alongside lingerie brands including Pour Moi and Calvin Klein. Continue reading...

Alcohol is embedded in profession where long hours, loneliness and lobbying are the norm, report findsParliament is Britain's last alcohol-soaked workplace" where MPs are offered free drinks as early as midday despite alcohol-related scandals, a report has revealed.Drinking is commonplace and some MPs have had their stomachs pumped after consuming so much alcohol that they ended up in hospital, one disclosed. Continue reading...

Labour veteran is said to relish role that requires careful negotiation of Trump and impending G20 leadershipExtraordinarily, given the importance of geopolitics, the office of foreign secretary has sometimes appeared a consolation prize in British politics, perhaps reflecting the transfer of responsibility to Downing Street or the Cabinet Office.That is not how Ed Miliband views the job. His allies say suggestions that he nurses resentment after he was deprived of the chance to be chancellor misunderstand his grasp of the policy challenges ahead. Ed has an immense appetite to get things done and is relishing being in this job," one says. Ed will be a policy-driven foreign secretary." Continue reading...

Helicopter surveillance finds dead and dying greater crested terns off South Australian coast as H5 virus spreads

Supporters fear structure could be torn down as safety hazard and want it to become memorial to postwar foreign labourers in honour of its Turkish creatorSometimes the currents of history converge in a single spot. In Berlin, one of the most intriguing of those places is a small traffic island with a lovingly tended garden and a ramshackle two-storey structure called the Treehouse at the Wall.In 1983, Osman Kalin, a Turkish guest worker", was looking in his corner of the city cleaved by the Berlin Wall for a patch of earth in which to plant his onions, garlic and cucumbers. Virtually on his doorstep in the Kreuzberg district was a slice of no man's land next to the concrete barrier and barbed wire. Although it sat in West Berlin, cold war logic meant the lot officially belonged to the communist East. Continue reading...

Labour politicians say mutualised model puts public in control without adding debt to government's balance sheetMPs and mayors close to Andy Burnham have told the prime minister there is a third way" to gain more control of failing companies, as the row over whether or not to nationalise Thames Water rumbles on.Burnham is said to be concerned about the increase in government debt that Treasury projections show could be a result of nationalising water companies. Continue reading...

Nigel Farage's 5m gift, the Cottrell family's links and donations, and Richard Tice's business dealings form part of an increasingly clear nexus of relationshipsIt has been three months since the Guardian revealed that Nigel Farage had accepted a 5m gift from Christopher Harborne, a billionaire donor to Reform UK.This was not the first story in our continuing investigation. But it has proved the most significant, and the consequences of the disclosure are still being played out. Continue reading...

Whey protein, a key infant formula ingredient, is in growing demand, partly linked to rising use of weight-loss drugsThe rise of proteinmaxxing" - a trend in which consumers try to eat as much protein as possible - could lead to higher prices for infant formula, experts warn.Whey protein, a key ingredient in infant formula, has surged in popularity over the past year as health professionals emphasise the benefits of protein. Continue reading...

The double assassination of two Scots in the Costa del Sol may have ended the war between the Lyons and the Daniels - but the crimes haven't gone awayIt was a warm evening in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol last year when two Scottish men met a violent end.The punters of Monaghans seafront bar had barely finished watching the Nations League final on 8 June when a car pulled up outside. A masked gunman emerged and headed to the table of 46-year-old Eddie Lyons Jr, shooting him at point-blank range. The assassin turned the gun on Lyons' friend, the bar's owner Ross Monaghan, 43, but it jammed. Continue reading...

World-class venue puts renewed focus on staff wellbeing under new head chef after Rene Redzepi stepped down and apologised for his behaviourThe Copenhagen restaurant Noma - often ranked among the world's best - is preparing to reopen next week under new leadership for the first time since its star chef and co-founder, Rene Redzepi, stepped down amid accusations of physical and psychological abuse.The new executive head chef, Pablo Soto, who has worked at the restaurant for nearly a decade, said while it remained the same Noma" there had been some significant changes. Along with a new, evolving monthly menu to replace its previous seasonal one, he said there was now a heightened focus on enabling employees to live full lives. Continue reading...

Exhausted firefighters wage war of attrition' against blaze that forced 200,000 people from their homesBy noon it is time for a break. The temperature is about 35C, the smell of ash, cinders and burnt wood hang acrid in the air. At tables laid out in the shrinking shade on the desiccated grass and sand outside the sports centre in Le Porge, 200 men and a handful of women have gathered. Firefighters, soldiers, police, gendarmes, officials, first aid teams, foresters and volunteers sit elbow to elbow, plates of sausages, steak and potatoes in front of them.The village was evacuated just over 14 hours after the megafire" - as it has become known in France - broke out 6km away last week. The blaze has consumed 42,000 hectares (104,000 acres) of mainly forestland west of Bordeaux. Though finally contained, there are outbreaks every day, pushing to the limit emergency services and the hundreds of amateurs who have come to their aid. Continue reading...

Greek police throw entire homicide division at trying to explain fate of 38-year-old Elisabeth-Jane RossTwo worlds separated by sheets of corrugated iron: one, a tree-lined road, bordered by a park and the home of Greece's oldest sports club; the other a wasteland of derelict buildings and graffiti-covered walls in what was once a car park.It is here, on the wrong side of the divide, in Kypseli, a neighbourhood in central Athens, that the body of Elisabeth-Jane Ross was found, inside a suitcase last month. Continue reading...

Exclusive: As wildfires rage, Frank Elderson says more work needed to assess risk from collapse of ecosystem servicesA senior policymaker at the European Central Bank has said the climate emergency and the breakdown of nature poses a dramatically growing risk to the global economy.Frank Elderson, a member of the ECB's executive board, said the eurozone lender of last resort was stepping up its monitoring of the financial risks linked to the destruction of ecosystem services", which are nature-related processes or assets that support human activity. Continue reading...

Two members given stern warnings' after concert and barred from returning, with band also excluded from performing in Singapore again, say authoritiesBritish trip-hop band Massive Attack has been barred from performing in Singapore after an investigation found two members unfurled a Palestinian flag during a concert, police said.Singapore, known for its tough laws on public speech and assembly, bans the open display of all foreign flags, national emblems or banners without a permit. Continue reading...

Petrol now costs more than $1.90 a litre in every capital city, with diesel expected to exceed $2.40 a litre

Indian conglomerate offsets earnings from Carmichael mine to report $340.6m loss, after promising billions in taxes and royalties

Bev Craig succeeds Andy Burnham and wins back support in areas where Reform made gains in MayLabour has stormed to a decisive victory in the Greater Manchester mayoral byelection, seizing back areas that recently fell to Reform UK and the Greens.Labour's Bev Craig, the Manchester city council leader, will now succeed Andy Burnham and hold one of the most powerful political positions outside Westminster. Continue reading...

The agreement is a great breakthrough', the president says in response to media questions

Ben Cohen says his ice-cream company has been silenced by corporate ownership - and a boycott of Magnum brands could force a saleBen & Jerry's ice-cream in the tub is still great, but the brand's newest chocolate-covered ice-cream bar on a stick?It ain't the same," Ben Cohen, the company co-founder, told the Guardian. Sure, the chocolate coating is still thick enough, but the ice cream itself is kinda fluffy", Cohen said - an insult in the ice-cream world that suggests extra air was added to cut costs. Continue reading...

Legal challenge to King's College London research study claimed it could harm participants but was rejectedA clinical trial of drugs that can delay puberty can go ahead after a high court judge threw out a legal challenge on Friday.Campaigners had launched the attempt to halt the planned research into puberty blockers, to be run by researchers at King's College London (KCL), on the grounds that they believed it could harm the children taking part. Continue reading...

Pedro Sanchez decries violation of territorial integrity' as other EU countries criticise Madrid over incidentAt least 57 people have died trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta after as many as 50,000 migrants entered the tiny territory from Morocco in what Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, called a violation of Spain's territorial integrity".The huge influx, which took place over the course of just 24 hours, overwhelmed the city of 85,000 people, triggered a political crisis for Madrid and led to a mixed reaction from other EU countries, including calls for Spain to be suspended from the Schengen free-movement zone. Continue reading...