Police seek witnesses after pair injured by object launched from pedestrian walkway above Fife roadA man and woman have been taken to hospital after a concrete slab was launched at a taxi from a pedestrian flyover in Scotland.The incident took place on the B921 as the taxi headed towards Kinglassie in Fife at about 12.30am on Sunday. The man and woman, both 37, were taken to Glenrothes hospital for treatment. Continue reading...
Jamie Starrs, 20, was sentenced for his assault on Amber Gibson, 16, who was killed five months laterA man who raped a teenage girl before she was sexually assaulted and murdered by her older brother has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.Amber Gibson, 16, was sexually assaulted by Jamie Starrs while she was incapacitated at a property in Bothwell, South Lanarkshire, in June 2021. Five months later, Amber was sexually assaulted and murdered by her older brother, Connor Gibson. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Consulting firm did not disclose Santos work before being paid to assist the government's future of gas statement' that paved way for Narrabri gas development
Police say suspect has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm after man was stabbed on TuesdayA man has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm after a stabbing near the British Museum in central London, Scotland Yard has said.Officers said a man was being treated for a stab wound to his arm and his condition was being assessed after the incident at the junction of Great Russell Street and Museum Street at about 10am on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Mountain rescue teams and coastguard helicopters searched for two men and a woman on Aonach Eagach in Glen CoeThe bodies of three hillwalkers have been recovered from a mountainside in the Scottish Highlands after they failed to return from a trek, police have said.Police Scotland said concerns were raised shortly after 9pm on Saturday when the trio did not return from their walk of the Aonach Eagach ridge in Glen Coe. Coastguard helicopter and mountain rescue teams searched the area and three bodies were found. Continue reading...
OnlyFans performer claims journalist went by same name allegedly used to offer ex-Sun colleagues money for sexual imagesIt has been three weeks since allegations against the outspoken broadcaster Dan Wootton emerged.Since then, he has continued to present his regular show on GB News while the publishers of the Sun and MailOnline have begun separate investigations, and an MP has asked questions about inquiries into the conduct of the rightwing polemicist.If you wish to contact the author of this article with further information, please email jim.waterson@theguardian.com or contact the Guardian securely. Continue reading...
Man from A Coruna had been praised for trying to track down unclaimed ticket's owner - whom police foundA lottery ticket seller hailed as a good samaritan 11 years ago for apparently trying to track down the owner of an unclaimed winning ticket worth 4.7m (4.05m) faces a possible six-year jail sentence on charges that he defrauded the rightful owner of their winnings.Police allege that Manuel Reija Gonzalez, a ticket seller in the north-western Spanish city of A Coruna, told the winner of the lottery drawn in June 2012 that his ticket was worth just over a euro and then, with the help of his brother, who worked for the national lottery, attempted to cash in the ticket himself. Both brothers have denied any wrongdoing. Continue reading...
Capital and south-east become more attractive to investors as other areas fall behind, academic study findsThe London economy and parts of the south-east have become more attractive to investors than the rest of Britain over the past year, according to a study.A report by academics at the University of Cardiff and Nottingham Business School found that out of 362 areas across England, Wales and Scotland, nine of the top 10 in a competitiveness index were London boroughs. Continue reading...
First large-scale UK investigation of its kind discovers social deprivation and ethnicity both affect sleepPeople living in deprived areas of the UK have poorer sleep quality than those in affluent areas, the first large-scale study of sleep across the population has found.Black people reported the worst sleep overall, with the research finding both social deprivation and ethnicity affect sleep quality, irrespective of age, sex, personal wealth, employment and education. Continue reading...
Internal document warns large numbers' could be affected if disease breaks out on barge planned to house asylum seekersMinisters hope to move asylum seekers on to the controversial Bibby Stockholm barge on Monday despite warnings in an internal health document that many could be infected if there was an outbreak of a disease such as diphtheria on board.A draft outbreak management plan" for the barge was released after a freedom of information request to NHS Dorset. The plan warns: accommodation providers should be aware that in the event of a significant outbreak large numbers of staff as well as residents may be impacted. Contingency plans for surge staffing to maintain minimum numbers should be in place." Continue reading...
Members pay tribute to great man' who played with band in 1970sThe Kinks have paid tribute to their former bandmate John Gosling after his death at the age of 75.Brothers Ray and Dave Davies formed the Kinks in the 1960s, with Gosling joining the band in 1970 as a keyboard player. Continue reading...
Woman says 16-year-old son was exhausted from camping in temperatures of up to 35C and is now at hotel in SeoulA mother has spoken out about the unbearable" conditions her son experienced at the World Scout Jamboree campsite in South Korea, after temperatures reached 35C (95F) and organisers refused to end the event early.The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said her 16-year-old son had been removed from the site by the UK Scout Association on Saturday because of the heatwave and was sleeping on the floor of a cramped" hotel room near Seoul airport with three other scouts. Continue reading...
by Nadia Khomami Arts and culture correspondent on (#6DHY6)
From throwing a wheel of brie at Pink to shouting at performers, fans are becoming more disrespectfulMusic industry experts are saying that bad behaviour at concerts has become the new norm after a spate of incidents where musicians have been hit by items thrown on stage by audience members.On Thursday, Las Vegas police dropped a criminal investigation into an incident involving Cardi B, in which the rapper was seen throwing a microphone at a member of the crowd at a concert after a drink was thrown at her. Continue reading...
The struggles of Lighthouse Immersive, a major player in the booming industry, suggest the trend some critics praised as the future of art' may be short-livedIt has been billed as the future of art" by some critics and praised as a way of bringing some of the world's most iconic masterpieces to a mass audience. But now one of the biggest companies behind the boom in immersive art" has filed for bankruptcy, suggesting the craze could end up being short-lived.Lighthouse Immersive is a Toronto-based company known for its immersive experiences of Vincent van Gogh, Frida Kahlo and Claude Monet as well as Disney animations. The company was believed to have sold more than 7m tickets to its exhibitions across 18 cities in North America. Yet in June its forthcoming Disney shows in Houston and Atlanta were cancelled without explanation. Now, according to court documents reportedly obtained by Bloomberg News, the company has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the US state of Delaware. Continue reading...
Movie drives sales of Switch gaming consoles as well as Super Mario title as Legend of Zelda also does wellThe success of The Super Mario Bros Movie and the new Zelda video game helped to boost Nintendo's bottom line on Thursday as the Japanese gaming company reported an 82% increase in profits.It said its operating profit in the three months to 30 June rose to 185.4bn (1bn), with the April release of the film - currently the biggest box office hit of 2023 - driving sales of Super Mario titles and the latest Legend of Zelda game also doing well. Continue reading...
Heavy rains and high winds lash Okinawa and Kagoshima, as storm slowly moves north-west before forecast change in direction towards mainlandAbout 166,000 households in south-western Japan's Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures were without power as Typhoon Khanun continued to hit with heavy rain and gusty winds, prolonging the damage potential.The storm in the East China Sea was heading north-west at a slow speed with gusts of 222km/h (138mph), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It was projected to change direction to move east towards the country's mainland until Tuesday, but its path was not determined, public broadcaster NHK said. Continue reading...
Research for Local Government Association renews questions over government's academisation' policyCouncil-maintained schools in England continue to outperform academies in Ofsted ratings, according to research, prompting renewed calls for councils to be able to open their own schools.Research conducted on behalf of the Local Government Association (LGA) found 93% of council-maintained schools were ranked outstanding" or good" by Ofsted as of 31 January 2023, compared with 87% of academies that have been graded since they were converted. Continue reading...
King of Queens actor alleges the Church of Scientology, which she left in 2013, subjected her to psychological torture'Leah Remini has filed an expansive lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige, for harassment, defamation, surveillance and other unlawful behavior resulting in psychological torture".The 53-year-old actor, who joined Scientology as a child in 1979 and left in 2013, claims the organization's mob-style operations and attacks" have significantly" affected her life and career. Continue reading...
by Constance Malleret in Rio de Janeiro on (#6DFWR)
Six months after Lula's government cracked down on garimpeiros, a legacy of malnutrition and malaria is taking its toll on YanomamiSix months after the Brazilian government launched an operation to turf out illegal miners from the country's largest Indigenous reserve, the Yanomami population there continues to live in fear, battling a legacy of violence, destruction and disease.A new report released by three Indigenous organisations on Wednesday, applauds the success of the government's crackdown but highlights the challenges that lie ahead in fully addressing the humanitarian crisis caused by the invasion of wildcat miners during the Jair Bolsonaro years. Continue reading...
The wreck of the ship that was key in Black migration to the UK lies off Algeria. A team is determined to bring its anchor homeWe're going to find it," says the leading shipwreck hunter, David Mearns. My confidence level is as high as it's ever been for anything I've ever done." The mission to retrieve the HMT Empire Windrush's anchor so it can stand as a public monument isn't foolproof, but Mearns' experience and conviction leave little room for doubt.You always have a contingency for unforeseen events [but] there isn't a scenario here where this shipwreck could be a million miles away from where we're looking for it. We'd have to go out and have a total disaster," he adds. I don't contemplate failure." Continue reading...
Government also plans to make greater use of facial recognition technology as part of crime crackdown billShoplifters, burglars and violent criminals who commit repeat offences will be handed mandatory prison sentences under plans being drawn up by ministers.The government plans to force judges to impose jail terms when sentencing repeat offenders for shoplifting, burglary, theft and common assault, using new legislation to be included in the crime and justice bill. Continue reading...
Government bows to pressure from industry over costs of switching over to British markingThe UK will retain the EU's product safety mark indefinitely, in the latest climbdown from proposed post-Brexit changes, after the government bowed to pressure from industry and manufacturers.The CE (Conformite Europeenne) mark is used by the bloc to certify that a wide range of items - from electrical goods and construction materials to medical devices and toys - meet safety standards. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#6DE4F)
SRA seizes documents and money of firms that appeared to offer to file false asylum claims for undercover reporterThree law firms in England accused of wrongdoing in dealing with asylum applications have been shut down by the solicitors' watchdog.The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has also suspended the practising certificates of three solicitors - one from each of the firms that have been shut down. Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#6DDRP)
Mike Veale resigned from the force in January 2019 and did not attend the disciplinary hearingA former chief constable who made inappropriate sexual remarks to colleagues has been indefinitely barred from serving after being found guilty of gross misconduct.Mike Veale, 57, is a former chief constable of Cleveland and Wiltshire police forces. At Wiltshire he oversaw Operation Conifer, the investigation into allegations that the late former prime minister Ted Heath was a child sexual abuser. Continue reading...
All systems are go at the GPS-guided operation that supplies 42 tonnes to Birds EyePeas are bouncing with abandon, creating an effect like bright green lava despite being frozen - as they begin the final part of their journey from field to fork.There are 35,000 hectares (86,000 acres) of peas grown in the UK each year, mostly along the east coast from Dundee to Norfolk, producing about 160,000 tonnes of peas, equivalent to roughly 2bn portions. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Cosmetics maker reports 90% drop in profits amid dispute with former boss over his attempt to sell sharesThe cosmetics chain Lush paid its managers 5m in bonuses last year while taking 5.1m in government support and recording a 90% drop in profits.The bonuses were paid on top of salaries in 2022 to directors including the co-founder, Mark Constantine, and his wife, Mo, who are shareholders, and six staff at Lush Cosmetics, the brand's main operating company, which runs its manufacturing site in Poole and 886 shops worldwide, including about 100 in the UK. Continue reading...
Measures to help households seemingly abandoned by ministers, says campaign groupThe UK government has been accused of betraying the most vulnerable in society by seemingly abandoning support for a social tariff that would help households pay for their gas and electricity.Fuel poverty campaigners were left angry after ministers failed to include plans for a social tariff from next spring in energy market reforms, despite commitments in two budget statements. Continue reading...
Krystal Talavera, 39, took legal herbal extract, which has opioid-like effect on the brain, in 2021 and died shortly afterThe family of a Florida woman who died in 2021 after ingesting kratom has been awarded more than $11m from a distributor of the south-east Asian herbal extract that has an opioid-like effect on the brain.In a ruling finalized Thursday, judge Donald Middlebrooks of the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida, told a company operating as the Kratom Distro to pay damages to the four surviving children of Krystal Talavera as well as her estate. Continue reading...
Officials say one person is injured in the latest in a series of strikes on the Russian capital that Ukraine has not claimed responsibility forThree Ukrainian drones were downed over Moscow early on Sunday, Russia's defence ministry said, in an attack that briefly shut an international airport.While one of the drones was shot down on the city's outskirts, two others were suppressed by electronic warfare" and smashed into an office complex. A security guard was injured, Russia's state news agency Tass reported, citing emergency officials. Continue reading...
Critics condemn superintendent Mike Miles's new education system' that removes students' access to booksThe largest school district in Texas announced its libraries will be eliminated and replaced with discipline centers in the new school year.Houston independent school district announced earlier this summer that librarian and media-specialist positions in 28 schools will be eliminated as part of superintendent Mike Miles's new education system" initiative. Continue reading...
Essex police continue to appeal for witnesses after release of video leads member of public to rescue petTwiglet, the miniature dachshund who was stolen by a masked man during a burglary, is safe and well and has been reunited with her owner, police have said.Officers in Essex launched a dog-hunt, releasing a video of the theft and appealing for information after an intruder took the 16-month-old dachshund from her home in Catmere End, Saffron Walden, at about 3pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Foundation set up by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the UK's richest person, had provided funding for a luxury clubhouse at ski clubThe Charity Commission has closed a preliminary investigation into concerns about governance at a charity set up by the UK's richest person, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, which helped fund a 16m luxury clubhouse for an exclusive French Alps club where he and his daughter have skied for years.The UK charity watchdog announced on Thursday that it had closed its regulatory compliance case" into the Jim Ratcliffe Foundation after finding that the charity's activities further its purposes and that there is no further role for the regulator". Continue reading...
CAA starts enforcement action after finding budget airline's treatment of passengers was unacceptableWizz Air could be forced to pay out millions of pounds to passengers after the UK airline regulator started enforcement action against the budget carrier in response to an avalanche of complaints over unpaid refund claims.The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it had been in contact with Wizz Air for several months after it received a high volume of complaints about the airline's failure to pay passengers what they are owed, particularly in the wake of flight cancellations. Continue reading...
Company lists highly paid machine-learning project manager role while actors and executives at odds over future of AI in HollywoodAs actors and writers strike over fair compensation and protections from the encroachment of artificial intelligence, Netflix has listed a position for a machine learning product manager that will compensate somewhere between $300,000 and $900,000 a year. According to the Screen Actors Guild (Sag-Aftra), 87% of the guild's actors make less than $26,000 per year.The use of AI in the production of film and television - either to write scripts, generate actors' likenesses, or cut corners in paying creative work, has been a major point of contention in negotiations between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) and Sag and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Writers have been striking since May; the actors joined earlier this month. The first joint strike since 1960 threatens to bring Hollywood to a complete standstill. Continue reading...
SG Recruitment UK allegedly failed to deliver on 20m-plus Covid contract awarded after Lord Chadlington introductionThe UK government appears unlikely to recover any money from a healthcare recruitment agency that allegedly failed to deliver on a multimillion-pound PPE contract awarded during the Covid pandemic.The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed it is in a dispute over the 20m-plus contract awarded to SG Recruitment UK Ltd. However, the agency's parent company has gone into liquidation, raising questions about whether the government can recoup any funds. Continue reading...
Jury at Southwark crown court finds Oscar-winning actor, 64, not guilty after four-week trialKevin Spacey has been cleared of sexual assault in one of the UK's most high-profile #MeToo trials.The 64-year-old Oscar-winning actor wept as he was found not guilty on Wednesday of sexually assaulting four men after a four-week trial at Southwark crown court. Continue reading...
Sacked foreign minister's rise was linked to his ties to president; his disappearance and dismissal have caused a scandalThe dismissal of Qin Gang, a key Xi Jinping loyalist, from the post of Chinese foreign minister is shaping up to be one of the country's biggest political scandals in years. Qin spent just seven months in the role, the shortest tenure of any to have served, and mysteriously disappeared from view last month. He was sacked on Tuesday, replaced with his predecessor Wang Yi, and is yet to reappear in public.Political purgings - if that is what has happened to Qin - are not rare in China. Thousands of officials, including high-ranking political rivals of Xi, have been targeted by anti-corruption campaigns or shuffled out of view - sometimes literally, as in the case of the former president Hu Jintao, who was physically removed from his seat at a Communist party meeting in Beijing last year. Continue reading...
Live coverage of business, economics and financial markets as NatWest Group ousts chief executive Alison Rose following government interventionEnergy minister Grant Shapps has said that banks should stop carrying out politically exposed person (PEP) tests on politicians and their family members, adding to the calls for changes in how banks check clients.Shapps on Wednesday morning said that the tests, which are in place because of a heightened risk of corruption for politicians from around the world and those with close connections, had gone too far. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#6D9GX)
Bank says profits have fallen as interest rates and cost of living are challenging' for people and firmsLloyds Banking Group has put aside more than 400m to prepare for a potential increase in customers falling behind on more costly mortgage payments.It comes amid surging interest rates, which have risen sharply since late 2021 and made payments more expensive for new owners and those rolling off existing fixed mortgages. Continue reading...
Trudi Warner could be prosecuted over holding up placard outside court where fellow activists banned from using climate crisis in defenceLeading lawyers have accused the government of undermining trial by jury after a climate activist was told she faces contempt proceedings over holding a sign outside court.The placard allegedly held by Trudi Warner, 68, outside a trial of fellow climate activists in March, read: Jurors: you have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to your conscience." Continue reading...
Engineering firm expects big jump in profits after post-Covid revival in airline flying hoursShares in Rolls-Royce have risen to their highest since the start of the coronavirus pandemic after it surprised investors with a big jump in expected profits on the back of high demand in its jet engine and defence businesses.The FTSE 100 engineering firm said its civil aerospace and defence units had reported higher sales and cost efficiencies" that improved profitability, in an unscheduled trading update on Wednesday morning. Continue reading...
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