by Amelia Hill, Jamie Grierson, Alexandra Topping, Jo on (#6XZ67)
Fifty-three Britons were onboard, among them young families, students and business people on their way homeTributes are being made to the passengers who died on the Air India flight bound for London Gatwick airport that crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad in western India.There were 242 passengers and crew onboard the plane, including 169 Indian nationals, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian. Continue reading...
TV presenter who found fame with show about banishing household dirt died after short illness, her manager saysTV star Kim Woodburn, who rose to fame presenting How Clean Is Your House?, has died at the age of 83 after a short illness, her manager said.A statement said: It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness. Continue reading...
PM urged to ensure 1.6bn trade agreement does not undermine industry with influx of lower-welfare meatA trade deal with Gulf states could severely undermine British farmers by allowing the importation of low-welfare meat, the National Farmers' Union has said in a letter to the prime minister.The UK is close to signing a 1.6bn trade agreement with Gulf states - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - amid deep dissatisfaction from farming and animal welfare groups over an expected deal for food imports. Continue reading...
Proposed clergy conduct measure hoped to improve existing rules criticised for failing to tackle misconduct allegationsChurch of England proposals for church courts to automatically be held in secret should be reconsidered, a parliamentary committee has warned.The clergy conduct measure is intended to propose the existing clergy disciplinary measure, which has been extensively criticised for failing to tackle allegations of serious or sexual misconduct against clergy.In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support for rape and sexual abuse on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...
New report estimates that China now has at least 600 nuclear warheads, with around 100 per year being added to the stockpile since 2023China is growing its stockpile of nuclear warheads at a faster rate than any other country, according to newly published research.A report published on Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimated that China now has at least 600 nuclear warheads, with about 100 per year being added to the stockpile since 2023. Continue reading...
The TV streamers are pooling their advertising services to make it easier for small companies to run campaignsSky, ITV and Channel 4 are to fight back against the social media companies Facebook and YouTube by pooling their streaming advertising services to make it easier and more affordable for millions of small businesses to run ad campaigns.The project is an attempt to break big tech's stranglehold over the UK's 45bn ad market. Continue reading...
UK regulator expresses concern as vast majority of centres visited by the BBC did not properly implement schemeFlaws in a scheme meant to help gamblers bar themselves from 24-hour slot machine shops have been described by the industry regulator as very concerning", following revelations in a BBC documentary.The Guardian has previously revealed how gambling operators are exploiting favourable planning and licensing laws to flood UK high streets with adult gaming centres" (AGCs), which are disproportionately concentrated in the poorest areas. Continue reading...
The 39-year-old senator was shot at a campaign rally in Bogota on 7 June and has now undergone three surgeriesColombian senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe, who has been hospitalised since he was shot in the head during a campaign event, is out of an emergency surgery performed but is in extremely critical" condition, the Santa Fe Foundation hospital said.Uribe, 39, a potential presidential candidate from the right-wing opposition, was shot in Bogota on 7 June during a rally. Continue reading...
Some reporters in the region face jail for alleged defamation in countries where news outlets often lack resources to defend lawsuitsThe Pacific is facing a critical moment" for press freedom, the region's media watchdog has warned, as a number of senior journalists in a range of Pacific countries are facing costly lawsuits and criminal prosecution for alleged defamation.We have seen a few cases coming up ... challenging the fundamentals of press freedom in the region," said Robert Iroga, the chair of the Pacific Freedom Forum. Continue reading...
by Presented by Michael Safi with Julian Borger; prod on (#6Y1B2)
It has been five days since Israel attacked Iran and the civilian death toll is rising, but its goal is unclear. Julian Borger reportsIt's been five days since Israel launched attacks on Iran and the war seems to be escalating. Hundreds of people have been killed and Israeli forces have issued an evacuation order for part of Tehran. Iran has managed to evade Israel's defences with missiles.The Guardian's senior international correspondent, Julian Borger, explains to Michael Safi that Israel's war aims seems to have changed. The first few days were marked by strikes on nuclear facilities and the killing of military officials and nuclear scientists, as Israel said it aimed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Now, however, it seems to have expanded into a war of attrition, with regime change a possible goal. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6Y18Z)
High numbers of staff leaving because of high pressure, lack of support, verbal abuse, long shifts and low pay, union saysNHS call handlers are quitting amid burnout at dealing with 999 calls about suicides, stabbings and shootings and the long delays before ambulances reach patients.The pressure is so intense that 27% of control room staff in ambulance services across Britain have left their jobs over the last three years, NHS figures show. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#6Y18X)
Sadiq Khan says regeneration plans for central London shopping street have received overwhelming support'Sadiq Khan has said he will pedestrianise Oxford Street as quickly as possible", after two in three respondents to a public consultation backed plans to ban traffic from London's central shopping area.The mayor's office said there was overwhelming public and business support" for the proposals to regenerate the street, whose lustre is slowly returning as department stores muscle back among the sweet and souvenir shops of dubious repute. Continue reading...
Victims' commissioner among those to welcome inquiry but ex-chief crown prosecutor says only criminal investigations can bring real accountability'The national inquiry into grooming gangs must be fearless in confronting uncomfortable truths" after too many girls were failed by the very institutions charged with their protection", the victims' commissioner for England and Wales has said.The government confirmed on Monday that it would set up a statutory inquiry and accept all 12 recommendations of Lady Casey's rapid review of the issue. The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, told the Commons: We cannot and must not shy away from these findings." Continue reading...
by Rajeev Syal, Pippa Crerar and Jessica Elgot on (#6Y15T)
Public inquiry will examine repeated failures that prevented abuse against children being properly investigatedA culture of blindness, ignorance and prejudice" led to repeated failures over decades to properly investigate cases in which children were abused by grooming gangs, a report has said.As the government announced a public inquiry into the scandal, Louise Casey said for too long the authorities had shied away from the ethnicity of the people involved, adding it was not racist to examine the ethnicity of the offenders".Five existing local inquiries into grooming gangs to be coordinated by an independent commission with full statutory inquiry powers.The collection of ethnicity and nationality data for all suspects in child sexual abuse and criminal exploitation cases to be made mandatory.The law to be tightened to ensure there is no exception to those who sexually penetrate a child under 16 being charged with rape. Casey said she believed the public would be horrified to realise this was not the case already.Research into the drivers for group-based child sexual exploitation, including the role of social media, cultural factors and group dynamics.Every local police force in England and Wales to review records to identify cases of child sexual exploitation that have not been acted upon, including a review of cases that have been reported but have not resulted in prosecutions over the last 10 years. Convictions of the young victims, many of whom say they still face appalling discrimination, should be quashed. Continue reading...
Roksana Lecka, from Hounslow, admitted seven counts of cruelty and was convicted of another 14 offencesA 22-year-old nursery worker has been convicted of abusing 21 babies, including kicking one little boy in the face and stepping on his shoulder during a harrowing campaign of abuse.Roksana Lecka, from Hounslow, admitted seven counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16 and was convicted of another 14 counts by a jury at Kingston crown court. Continue reading...
Ryland Headley linked to murder of Louisa Dunne, 75, in Bristol after semen found on her skirt was tested in 2024Detectives caught a 92-year-old man who it is alleged murdered and raped a woman in her home almost six decades ago after advances in DNA techniques led them to the suspect, a jury has been told.An extensive police operation was launched in Bristol in the summer of 1967 after the death of mother of two Louisa Dunne, 75, but her killer could not be found, a jury at the city's crown court heard. Continue reading...
Patrick Spencer has exercised right to be tried by jury in crown court over allegationsAn MP faces trial over allegations he groped two women in one night while drunk at the Groucho Club in London.Patrick Spencer, the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich, pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault at Westminster magistrates court on Monday morning. Continue reading...
Excavation crews begin sealing off site in Tuam, Co Galway, before full-scale dig starts on 14 JulyPreliminary work aimed at identifying the remains of nearly 800 infants is starting on the site in Tuam, Co Galway, as Ireland continues to wrestle with the traumatic legacy of its mother and baby homes scandal.Catherine Corless, a local historian who first sounded the alarm about the dark past of the institution run by nuns from the Bon Secours order, uncovered the names of 796 infants who are believed to have been buried there between 1925 and 1961, some in a disused subterranean septic tank. There were no burial records. Continue reading...
Cold drop, upper-air trough and heat dome combine to create severe weather and 85mm hailstoneSevere thunderstorms swept across France last Friday, killing one person and injuring another. Two systems were involved, prompting orange weather warnings: the first came from the west via Brittany and hit the north of the country, and the second arrived via Spain and affected south-west France.More than 30,000 lightning strikes were recorded between midnight on Friday and early Saturday. Eure, north of Paris, was worst hit with 4,326 strikes. Strong winds lashed Normandy - Rouen recorded a 76mph (123km)/h) gust that broke the 64mph record set in 2019. Hail affected several areas, leading to infrastructure and crop damage. Continue reading...
Lawyers for the music mogul deny allegations of sex trafficking or coercion, asserting that all sexual encounters were consensual and part of a swingers lifestyle'The high-profile federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean Diddy" Combs is entering its sixth week in federal court in Manhattan on Monday as the government continues presenting its case against the 55-year-old music mogul.Combs, who was arrested in September, faces charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty. Continue reading...
UN rapporteur calls for move as food deliveries are attacked and starvation becomes a weapon of war in Gaza and SudanUN peacekeepers should be routinely deployed to protect aid convoys from attack in places such as Gaza and Sudan, a senior United Nations expert has proposed.With starvation increasingly used as a weapon of war, Michael Fakhri said armed UN troops were now required to ensure that food reached vulnerable populations. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#6Y0EY)
PM forced to cave in to clamour for statutory inquiry despite earlier dismissing them as amplifying far right demandsThe news emerged in a notably low-key way: a speculative question to Keir Starmer during his Q&A with reporters on the way to the G7 summit in Canada. Yes, he said, speaking carefully while wedged in the aisle of the cramped jet, there would be a full statutory inquiry into grooming gangs.This was, it should be remembered, not just one of the most toxic debates in British politics during 2025, but one where Starmer and his ministers had continually pushed back against demands for such an action. Continue reading...
Gujarati communities in the capital gather to commemorate more than 270 victims who died in Ahmedabad air crashAs the late afternoon sun streamed into a small square behind the Indian High Commission in London on Sunday, a crowd of 200 people gathered for a vigil - one of several held around the UK this weekend to remember those who died in the Air India disaster.Candles were placed beneath a bust of Jawaharlal Nehru and attenders listened to inter-faith leaders and members from the Gujarati community who had come to reflect on a shocking week of loss. Continue reading...
PM voices determination to press ahead with bill despite threat of Labour revolt over disability benefit cutsThe government's welfare plans have to be pushed through, Keir Starmer has said, indicating that there will be no further concessions in the face of a potentially significant Labour rebellion over cuts to disability benefits.Speaking to reporters on his way to the G7 summit in Canada, the prime minister set out his determination to get the plans through parliament, after ministers warned mutinous MPs about the consequences of voting against the government. Continue reading...
People who rely on personal independence payments tell how cuts will affect them as chancellor rules out U-turnMinisters are facing a backlash over planned disability welfare changes, but Rachel Reeves on Thursday resisted calls to abandon the cuts.After ruling out a U-turn, pressure is building on the UK chancellor to tweak qualification rules to protect many disabled people from being stripped of their benefits. On Thursday, she said the government was reviewing the criteria", but ministers are yet to release details. Continue reading...
Belinda Taylor described by son as someone who wanted the best for others' as partner seeks answers over incidentThe son of Belinda Taylor, who died in a skydiving incident on Friday, has paid tribute to a selfless woman who wanted only the best for others", as her partner said he wanted answers over what went wrong.Taylor, 48, from Totnes, had been taking part in a tandem skydive at Dunkeswell airfield near Honiton in Devon on Friday. Continue reading...
French president is first foreign head of state to visit Arctic territory since US president made commentsEmmanuel Macron has criticised Donald Trump's threats to take over Greenland as he became the first foreign head of state to visit the vast, mineral-rich Arctic territory since the US president began making explicit threats to annex it.I don't think that's what allies do," Macron said as he arrived in the Danish autonomous territory for a highly symbolic visit aimed at conveying France's and the EU's solidarity" with Greenland on his way to a summit of G7 leaders in Canada. Continue reading...
Magazine says Ryan's efforts to spotlight lives of disabled people are needed more than ever'Guardian writer Frances Ryan has been named one of Vogue magazine's 25 women defining Britain", stating her work covering the rights of disabled people had become essential reading".The publication said Ryan's efforts to spotlight the lives of disabled people were needed more than ever", with official statistics suggesting that a quarter of people in the UK report some kind of disability. It has been an increasing proportion of the population since 2014. Continue reading...
Stronger powers and bigger penalties needed to investigate and punish' unregistered lobbyists and those who break government's code of conduct, critics say
World news | The Guardian