by Tom Ambrose (now); Jakub Krupa and Vivian Ho (earl on (#77WYB)
Coalition of the Willing condemns Russian strikes on Ukraine, pledges to work on constraining Russia's war chest'Here's the full quote from Kremlin's Peskov, via AFP:Britain is methodically and regularly throwing oil on the fire and methodically and regularly plotting schemes to prevent even the slightest progress in the peace process." Continue reading...
by Yohannes Lowe (now and earlier) and Martin Belam ( on (#77WYA)
Downing Street repeats calls for social media platforms to review content and policies as companies urged to uphold legal dutiesLee Anderson, the Reform UK MP for Ashfield, is first up to speak. He says young people in his constituency - and in many areas across the country - have absolutely no chance" of securing council housing or social housing. He says that Reform's government would put British people first" in a housing system he characterises as being unfair.Reform UK will use a press conference that is due to begin at 11am to announce its pledge to prioritise British-born workers under 35 when allocating social housing. We will bring you the key lines from the conference, fronted by deputy leader, Richard Tice, and the party's chairman, Lee Anderson, here. You can watch it live: Continue reading...
EU police agency says shift could point to involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific artefactsRobberies at European museums are becoming increasingly violent, with thieves sometimes brandishing guns, assaulting staff and using sledgehammers, axes and even explosives to smash their way into buildings and display cases, according to a report by Europol.The EU police agency said that while museum thefts were generally seen as a non-violent form of organised property crime, member states had detected a recent shift towards violent and forceful methods" that could point to the involvement of new criminal networks focused on specific cultural artefacts. Continue reading...
Gunmen attacked worshippers in Dekara village on Friday taking women, children and older peopleAn armed group has posted a video showing what residents said were about 600 women, children and older people abducted in an attack on a mosque in Nigeria's north-central Niger State last week.The video, posted on Facebook and WhatsApp, showed large groups of people seated in a forested area surrounded by armed men. Several children could be heard crying in the background. Continue reading...
Claire Lomas had been filming a series for Apple TV in Amman, Jordan when she lost control of the aircraftThe death of a disability campaigner after a microlight crash while filming a TV programme for Apple was an accident, a coroner has concluded.An inquest heard on Thursday that Claire Lomas, 44, died of severe traumatic injuries on 22 August 2024, five weeks after a light aircraft that she had been piloting while filming a promotional video for Apple's Vision Pro headset veered off the runway" and crashed into a rock in Amman, Jordan, on 15 July. Continue reading...
by Presented by Nosheen Iqbalwith Aaron Sharp; produc on (#77TKP)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are planning to return to live in Britain, six years after leaving for the US: a decision that was subject to intense media scrutiny. The couple and their two children are expected to relocate later in August to a non-royal residence.Nosheen Iqbal speaks to senior national editor Aaron Sharp - watch on YouTube Continue reading...
Pre-tax profits rose at high street opticians to 429.7m in the year to February while sales rose 7% to 4.3bnSpecsavers has paid 12m to its parent company controlled by its founders Doug and Dame Mary Perkins after the high street optician's profits increased by more than a quarter.The group operates nearly 3,000 optometry, audiology and ophthalmology businesses globally in at least eight countries, including more than 1,200 in the UK, through hundreds of independent partners. Continue reading...
The country risks the collapse of the entire book ecosystem' following destruction of warehouses in July and August, say Ukrainian publishersThe Ukrainian Book Institute has called on the international publishing community to support Ukrainian publishers after Russian attacks in July and early August destroyed about 10m books and a significant share of the country's book production capacity.The institute said the attacks on publishing, printing and warehouse infrastructure had left some companies at risk of financial collapse. A major attack on 1 August hit warehouses belonging to the RNK-Ranok publishing group in Kharkiv, destroying approximately 8m books, following July attacks in Kyiv which led to the loss of more than 1.5m books. In all, the recent attacks have led to the destruction of approximately 30% of the volume of books produced annually in Ukraine. Continue reading...
Device was near country's Neptun Deep gas platform in the Black SeaRomania's military has destroyed a marine drone spotted just a few hundred meters" from the Neptun Deep platform, a major offshore gas project in the Black Sea.The drone, spotted just a few hundreds of meters" from the gas extraction works at the Neptun Deep platform located some 80 miles east of the city of Constana, was destroyed by a Romanian F-16 fighter jet. Continue reading...
Dulwich Picture Gallery show to feature British artist's work hung next to paintings by Dutch and Flemish greatsThe contemporary UK artist David Shrigley will apply his trademark arch humour and distinctive artistic practice in dialogue" with old masters of Dutch and Flemish painting in a major new solo exhibition in London.The celebrated visual artist will explore the 17th-century paintings with his own new works responding to" and hung alongside original masterpieces by artists including Jan Steen, Adriaen Brouwer, David Teniers the Younger, Adriaen van Ostade, Pieter Brueghel the Younger and Rembrandt van Rijn. Continue reading...
Club's board meets on Tuesday night to decide penalties after league boss calls reports deeply concerning'The Sydney Swans AFL club will sanction players for serious breach" of standards over an incident that led to a report of sexual assault.Victorian police on Tuesday confirmed the sexual crimes squad was investigating a reported sexual assault at Melbourne's Pullman Hotel early on Monday morning. No arrests have been made and no charges have been laid. Continue reading...
Robert Smith, Olly Alexander and Paris Paloma also among signatories to letter saying exploitation of Rosebank and Jackdaw fields defies climate reality
In one court in Kent, most cases relate to term-time holidays, but non-attendance is a complex issue and post-pandemic rates remain highAs the long school summer break approached its mid-point recently, Margate beach was crowded with families enjoying the brief reprieve between the year's fourth and fifth heatwaves. For most, thoughts of the classroom were probably not at the forefront of their minds.But for the seven mothers and two fathers who were summoned at 10am to a stuffy room in the town's magistrates court, set just behind the beachfront strip of arcades, the subject was unavoidable. They were among hundreds of parents due in courts across England this month for failing to ensure their children had regularly attended school over the course of the last academic year. Continue reading...
by Sarah Basford Canales and Krishani Dhanji on (#77P3D)
Greens say Labor's reform set to rip life-changing supports away from disabled people instead of raising additional revenue through taxing gas exports'Cross-benchers have slammed the Albanese government's proposed overhaul of the NDIS as going too far, too fast" as the changes to curb the growth of the $52bn program appear set to pass the parliament as early as next week.The Greens and independent ACT senator, David Pocock, delivered scathing assessments of the bill they warn will enable blunt and indiscriminate cuts to individual budgets supporting more than 770,000 Australians with disabilities in a final Senate inquiry report released on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...
A former UK government scientific adviser warned amid the shattering' heat that worse is still to comeMet Office has just offered an update on temperatures across the UK, with several stations already reporting temperatures above 30C - and it's not even 11am.It's 30.4C in Wych Cross, 30.3C in Charlwood, 30.2C at Kenly Airfield. Continue reading...
Valter Lavitola's lawyer says he had intended attack to boost security for investigative reporter Sigfrido RanucciAn Italian businessman has admitted to masterminding a bomb attack at the home of Sigfrido Ranucci, a prominent investigative journalist, claiming it was intended to boost his security protection.Valter Lavitola, who was friends with Ranucci, the host of Report, an investigative programme aired by the state broadcaster, Rai, made the confession to investigators after his arrest earlier this week in connection with the case, the businessman's lawyer, Sergio Cola, told the Italian media. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: With more sites closed and more lives upended, a look at the rhetoric and reality of where asylum seekers should be housedGood morning. This week, immigration minister Anna Turley announced, with minor fanfare, the government will stop using a further 13 hotels to house asylum seekers across the country.It brings the total shut this year to 44, in pursuit of Labour's manifesto pledge, now reiterated by Andy Burnham, to cease hotel use completely by the end of this parliament. Doing so would remove what have become highly visible symbols of an increasingly toxic debate about migration. Less than 160 to go, according to the Home Office.Solar eclipse | Wednesday's eclipse began in Russia's remote Arctic north, going on to trace an arc over much of western Europe. From the UK to northern Italy, tens of millions of people turned to the sky as the light of the setting sun was almost completely blocked out.UK news | Nurses are collapsing during shifts amid inhumane and impossible" conditions caused by extreme heat, their union has warned, as Andy Burnham promised to grapple with the bigger questions" of climate adaptation.US politics | Karoline Leavitt will step down as White House press secretary at the end of August, Donald Trump announced.Science | Astronomers claim to have discovered a new kind of cosmic object, a black hole star", which is the size of the entire solar system and glows with a brilliant red light.Middle East | Israeli militants have besieged two Palestinian families in their homes since the weekend, aiming to take over their properties in the West Bank village of Qusra through a campaign of terror. Continue reading...
Team manager has no idea' why they disappeared, after reports one of Commonwealth Games athletes said they intended to claim asylumYears of arduous preparation and training had come to fruition and the pressure was finally lifted. After competing for their country in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, athletes from Uganda were afforded a couple of days' sightseeing time before catching their plane home on Tuesday.But when the flight took off, there were four empty seats. Continue reading...
Company posts $7.81bn in revenue, a jump of 92%, after share prices crashed following IPO debutFor the first time since SpaceX went public, the world is getting a first-hand look into the trillion-dollar corporation's financials. The Elon Musk-run business reported its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, saying that its revenue jumped 92% since June.SpaceX beat Wall Street expectations, reporting $7.81bn in revenue, versus analysts' predictions of $6.93bn. While expansive, the company is not profitable. The company reported a loss of $541m, down from a $1bn loss in the same quarter last year. Continue reading...
by Adam Fulton, Lucy Campbell, Maya Yang, Yassin El-M on (#77B19)
This blog is now closed - our live coverage of the Middle East continues hereA liquefied natural gas tanker controlled by QatarEnergy exited the strait of Hormuz overnight - the first such vessel visible on ship-tracking data to leave the waterway since 11 July, data from analytics firms showed on Thursday.The Al Areesh tanker, which loaded a cargo at Qatar's Ras Laffan terminal around 4-6 July, sailed out of the strait overnight on 29 July, according to Kpler and LSEG data. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: The legal protections once considered foundational in conflict are now routinely bypassed, with healthcare personnel treated as legitimate targets
Andres Felipe Valencia Barrientos found guilty of two counts of assault and not guilty of three of six counts of rapeA British musician and YouTube personality on trial for allegedly violently raping a fan in a Perth hotel has been acquitted of three sexual penetration charges.But the jury found the rapper Yung Filly guilty of two assault offences related to his September 2024 encounter with a 20-year-old woman after a show. Continue reading...
Both MPs have had the parliamentary whip restored following separate independent disciplinary processesMPs Diane Abbott and Joani Reid have been readmitted into Labour and had the parliamentary whip restored, just under two weeks into Andy Burnham's premiership.The party confirmed that this followed separate independent disciplinary processes, although Labour said the leadership played no role in either decision. Continue reading...
by Lisa O’Carroll Senior correspondent on (#77BBB)
Maria and Czeslaw Krupa, who arrived in 1947 and 1948 as dependents of displaced Polish service members, were told they did not have post-Brexit rights to return to UKTwo Polish citizens who have lived in the UK for nearly 80 years after their parents fled the second world war have spoken of their terrifying experience after being told they did not have post-Brexit rights to return to the UK.In May, while visiting Poland, they learned that although they had been welcomed as refugees after the war, they now needed special post-Brexit paperwork to return to their home in Bury. Continue reading...
Details of parents and staff, including email addresses and phone numbers, are among data taken by cybercriminalsThe Department for Education and a police database have been targeted by a cyber-attack, exposing more than 740,000 pieces of data.Details of government officials, senior school leaders, university staff, police officers and members of the public have been taken by hackers. Continue reading...
Repeated heatwaves and strong winds alarm experts, who warn blazes are becoming harder to quellThree Greek firefighters have died while tackling wildfires on the island of Crete and in the south of the mainland, the Greek fire department has said, as extreme heat hinders efforts to control blazes ravaging southern Europe.The arc of brutal fires, which runs from the Atlantic coast to the eastern Mediterranean, and from the Scottish Highlands to the south of Spain, has alarmed experts because many of the fires have been out of control and burning close to towns and cities. Continue reading...
by Patrick Butler Social policy editor on (#77ATY)
Rightwing media hostility helped sink his reform plans in 2010, but the new PM's passionate speech suggests there is now clear political will for changeFor campaigners perpetually disappointed by the failure of England's political classes to fix England's creaking adult social care system, the fear was that Andy Burnham's long-trailed speech on Wednesday would be less Brave New World, more Groundhog Day.Burnham acknowledged he had been here before. Back in 2010, as health and social care secretary, he unveiled extensive proposals to overhaul social care, only for them to collapse amid rightwing media hostility and furious political rows about death taxes". Continue reading...
Musa Ahmed was being treated in intensive care in London hospital after being pulled from West Mersea seaA seven-year-old boy has died a week after an incident off the Essex coast in which his teenage cousin and her mother died as they tried to rescue him.Musa Ahmed was being treated for life-threatening injuries after being pulled from the sea near West Mersea beach on 22 July. Continue reading...
Adopting organic free-range model in UK could lead to greenhouse emissions equivalent to 2,316,000 tonnes of CO2, study suggestsOrganic eggs are twice as bad for the climate as eggs from chickens living in cages, research suggests.According to the study, switching the UK's entire egg production to an organic free-range model would lead to greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 2,316,000 tonnes of CO2 (tCO2e), while production through a fully caged system would emit 1,184,000 tCO2e. Continue reading...
Handful of ticketholders will be selected at random for up-close visits to ancient site throughout AugustTrips to Stonehenge can be a little hectic. Tens of thousands of people turn up to celebrate summer and winter solstices and most other days the site is a place of bustle, excited conversation and selfie action.But throughout August, English Heritage is offering visitors the chance to win some guaranteed solitude within the hulking stones. Continue reading...
At least 1,500 protest after six men on drug-related charges put in solitary confinement before possible executionPrisoners at Iran's largest jail have sewn their lips shut as hundreds of them joined a mass hunger strike amid a surge in executions over drug offences and charges linked to anti-government protests.The hunger strike, involving at least 1,500 death row prisoners at Ghezel Hesar prison near Tehran, began two weeks ago after six men convicted on drug-related charges were transferred to solitary confinement before their possible execution, according to Iranian rights groups. Continue reading...
World news | The Guardian