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Alternative fur Deutschland leader speaks of historic success' of top place in Thuringia and second in SaxonyGerman chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged mainstream parties to exclude right-wing extremists", after preliminary results showed the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) had come top in a state election, while a new populist force on the left established a firm foothold in the country's political landscapeVoters in two closely watched elections in the former communist east made their dissatisfaction with Germany's mainstream political parties clear, putting the AFD in the top spot in Thuringia, with 32.8% of the vote, and second place in Saxony, with 30.6%, according to preliminary results. Continue reading...

City council alleges cap on scooter numbers systematically exceeded' by 500 a day but company disagrees' with claims, saying it is reviewing options'

Programme for respiratory syncytial virus could prevent estimated 5,000 hospitalisations annually in infantsPregnant women and older people across England will be routinely vaccinated against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for the first time, the NHS has said.From 1 September the NHS will vaccinate pregnant women from 28 weeks onwards and adults turning 75. Adults aged 75 to 79 will be offered a catchup vaccine to make sure they are protected. Continue reading...

Candidates will be assessed on eight-point criteria that includes their stance on the war in Gaza

It is the first time such notification has been given to a category C prison focusing on training and resettlementA Kent prison has become the first of its kind to be issued with an urgent notification after a decade of systemic failure and decline", the chief inspector of prisons has confirmed.HMP Rochester is the seventh prison to have received such a notification since November 2022, but has become the first category C prison, which focuses on training and resettlement, to receive one. The urgent notification process was introduced in 2017 and is a means of raising immediate concerns following an inspection and requires a response and action plan from the secretary of state within 28 days. Continue reading...

As much as 40mm of rain could fall in an hour in some places on Monday, forecasters sayThunderstorm warnings are still in place in the UK, parts of which could see as much as three inches of rain on Monday.The yellow warning began in the early hours of Sunday and will be in place until Tuesday, covering most of England, the east of Wales and the east of Scotland. Continue reading...

Likely win in Thuringia and second place in Saxony highlight how eastern voters are asserting their own political identity

Exit polls show strong performance for far-right Alternative fur Deutschland in both German state elections

First minister complains of same Tory cuts agenda' in effort to shift blame for his own government's budget problemsJohn Swinney has accused Labour of intensifying" austerity as his ministers prepare to cut hundreds of millions of pounds in Scotland's public spending this week.In an effort to deflect blame for his own government's budget challenges, the first minister said Labour was implementing the same Tory cuts agenda" after the Treasury announced plans for 22bn in cuts last month. Continue reading...

Police say pair are being questioned in connection with death of 13-year-old boy in Oldbury on ThursdayTwo teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 13-year-old boy was stabbed to death in Oldbury, West Midlands.The boy, who has not been named, died inside a house on Lovett Avenue on Thursday afternoon. The two teenage boys were arrested on Sunday and taken into custody for questioning, West Midlands police said. Continue reading...

Russia plays down overnight strikes as its forces make incremental gains in Donbas and launch missiles at KharkivUkraine has carried out one of its biggest ever drone attacks on Russia, with videos showing a series of explosions and fires at power stations and refineries including in Moscow.Russia's defence ministry downplayed the overnight strikes. It said it had intercepted and destroyed 158 unmanned enemy aerial vehicles. These were shot down over 15 regions, it claimed. Continue reading...

Change ends era of unlimited bets, with under-25s now limited to 2 bets and online operators firms carrying out affordability checksThe amount of money a gambler can stake on the spin of a digital slot machine has been capped at 5, as a major plank of reforms unveiled by the previous government took effect.The move, which is expected to crimp online casino revenues, came into force on Sunday 1 September, two days after gambling firms began implementing separate affordability checks" triggered by customer losses. Continue reading...

Minns government set to bring in sweeping reforms after premier vowed to learn from the death of 28-year-old mother Molly Ticehurst's preventable' death

National Renters Protection Authority is one of several rental policies minor party is taking to the election as possible kingmakers in a hung parliament

Women push back at law stating they must not sing or read aloud in public by posting videos of themselves singingAfghan women, both inside and outside the country, have posted videos of themselves singing in protest against the Taliban's laws banning women's voices in public.Late last month the Taliban published new restrictions aimed at combatting vice and promoting virtue. The 35-article document, which includes a raft of draconian laws, deems women's voices to be potential instruments of vice and stipulates that women must not sing or read aloud in public, nor let their voices carry beyond the walls of their homes. Continue reading...

Chidimma Adetshina, whose father is Nigerian, had been representing South Africa but withdrew after a xenophobic backlashA former Miss South Africa contestant hounded over a nationality row was crowned Miss Universe Nigeria on Saturday, capping a difficult few weeks for the contender.Born to a Nigerian father in South Africa, 23-year-old Chidimma Adetshina withdrew from the country's competition for the safety and wellbeing of my family and I" after a backlash that exposed anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Firefighter, disability and Grenfell groups criticise inconsistent rollout' of emergency guidanceFirefighter, disability and Grenfell groups have criticised the existence of a dangerous postcode lottery" as data revealed an inconsistent rollout" of emergency evacuation plans for vulnerable people across London.The Guardian submitted freedom of information requests to all London councils on how many personalised emergency evacuation plans (Peeps) had been issued to local people since 2017. Of the 33 London councils, 29 responded to the request. Continue reading...

Lack of funding, resources and rehabilitation leads to bored and angry' prisoners, Wendy Sinclair-Gieben saysThe prison system is broken", with inmates returning to the community bored and angry" and set up to fail", according to Scotland's outgoing chief inspector.Wendy Sinclair-Gieben highlighted a succession of failings in a service she described as the underdog of the criminal justice system", as she stands down as HM chief inspector of prisons for Scotland at the end of August. Continue reading...

Stella Creasy says she wants to put school and hospital debts and impact of trade deals on nation's books'A senior Labour backbencher is seeking to have liabilities from schools and hospitals built under private finance initiative (PFI) deals scrutinised under a new budget responsibility bill.Stella Creasy, who has tabled two amendments to the bill, said this would help highlight the scale of debt incurred. She also wants trade deals such as the post-Brexit arrangement with the EU to fall under its remit, arguing these can have an even greater fiscal impact. Continue reading...

As the final report on the fatal London blaze looms, many developers have not begun safety work Rowan Moore: The Grenfell inquiry is exposing a culture of contempt that has run deep in BritainGrenfell was an avoidable tragedy, the inquiry's counsel said on the final day of hearings. Yet with the report into the blaze that claimed 72 lives due this week, residents of other tower blocks fear that not enough has been done to prevent another catastrophe.One of them is Gemma Lindfield. The 45-year-old barrister is still waiting for flammable cladding to be removed from her eight-storey apartment block in east London. It took three years before anyone even realised there was a problem. The following four years have been mired in indecision and wrangling about exactly who will pay to fix it. Continue reading...

Covid's world of masks and remote health visits has created a generation at risk of social and emotional difficultiesBabies born in 2020 started life in the strange world of lockdown in a small bubble of people with faces hidden behind masks. Social experiences, such as seeing extended family, trips to the playground or mother and baby groups, could not happen. And struggling public services meant infants were likely to miss out on face-to-face appointments with a health visitor who might have been able to spot developmental difficulties early.Those babies are now four years old, and in England are arriving at school for the first time this week. Experts say teachers should be braced to encounter - and tackle - problems ranging from poor speech and language development to social and emotional difficulties. Continue reading...

Impact of abolishing policy would be dented unless overall cap is reformed, figures showTens of thousands of children affected by the two-child benefit limit may not be lifted out of poverty unless the overall benefit cap is reformed, official figures show.Introduced by the Conservatives, the two-child limit stops households with a third or subsequent child born from 6 April 2017 receiving additional universal credit or child tax credits for these members of the family. Continue reading...

It's the third explanation government ministers have given since last Sunday, while Coalition senator Andrew Bragg says questions are reasonable'

New York-born artist, 53, known for collaborating with Missy Elliott, was performing in Connecticut on FridayThe US rapper Fatman Scoop has died after he collapsed mid-performance during a free concert in Connecticut on Friday night, according to reports.The New York-born artist, whose real name is Isaac Freeman III, was headlining the so-called Green & Gold Party in Hamden, Connecticut, when he had what was described as a medical emergency. He was seen in a video posted on X to have collapsed behind the DJ booth after urging concertgoers to make some noise". Continue reading...

Police believes no third party involved in incident after bodies found in Staines-Upon-ThamesThree children and a man have been found dead in a house in Surrey.Police discovered their bodies in a property in Bremer Road, Staines-Upon-Thames, at about 1.15pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

Israel accused of using a 10-year-old girl as a human shield as it carried out its devastating attack on the occupied Palestinian territoryWhen Israeli soldiers arrived at the modest house along an alleyway in Nur Shams camp on Wednesday night, they sent the women and four of the children out into the street, but kept hold of Malak Shihab.They took the muzzle off their dog and it went straight up to the slight 10-year-old girl and sniffed her. Terrified, she pleaded to be with her mother, but the soldiers seemed to have just one phrase in accented Arabic: Open the doors." Continue reading...

Joseph Rowntree Foundation points to critical shift in expectations' and says the public now budget for many routine servicesMost people in the UK now believe they will have to spend their own money on private healthcare for routine services such as dentistry, physiotherapy and counselling because they won't be able to get them quickly on the NHS, pioneering new research has found.The Joseph Rowntree Foundation says its findings, based on extensive focus group analysis, is evidence that Britons have undergone a critical shift in expectations" about the health service's capacity to meet their needs. Continue reading...

The state will decide on a constitutional amendment in November over whether to allow for adult use of potDonald Trump has come out in support for a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational marijuana in Florida, the state where he resides.In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump said personal amounts of marijuana will be legalized for adults" with Florida's amendment 3 whether people like it or not". Continue reading...

Keir Starmer struggling to sell his remedies for the problems facing Britain after Tory messThe prime minister is struggling to communicate how his government will address the significant problems facing the UK. While the public readily accepts that the last government left a mess, selling Labour's remedies as necessary or fair is proving more challenging.The incoming government's first job was to assign blame for the country's current woes. This proved relatively easy, given the last government's unpopularity and the Conservatives' poor campaign. Continue reading...

Convicted sex offender who was also found to have raped child's mother was allowed contact by family courtA mother found to have been raped by her ex-partner was devastated" after the family court permitted the convicted sex offender to have contact with their child.Kristoffer Paul Arthur White, a serial rapist, was granted unsupervised access to his daughter following a recommendation by a Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) officer, who carried out a risk assessment for thecourt. Continue reading...

Several cases have been confirmed and cattle are being kept in restricted zonesThe movement of sheep and cattle has been restricted in Norfolk and Suffolk after several confirmed cases of bluetongue disease.A restricted zone has been put in place to mitigate the risk of further cases of disease occurring", the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said. Continue reading...

Public diners as seen in 1940s Britain - offering nutritious meals at reasonable prices - should be everyday eating places, says MP-backed reportIn 1940s Britain, at a time before fast food and ready meals were staples of the British high street and in a country struggling to deal with the ramifications of war, a popular new restaurant chain was established.It served high-quality meals at reasonable prices, attracted customers from the full spectrum of British society, and grew at a rate of 10 new sites a week at its most popular. The brains behind the operation? The British government, led by the prime minister, Winston Churchill. Continue reading...

Anera says four men who died in Gaza were locals who asked to serve as escort for convoy, but IDF describes them as armed assailants'

Officials say it is too dangerous to send in divers to look for the Indian woman who has now been missing for eight daysThe search for an Indian tourist who was swallowed by a sinkhole in Malaysia's capital has stalled after being deemed too risky".Vijaya Lakshmi Gali was walking along a road in Kuala Lumpur on 23 August when the pavement beneath her suddenly collapsed. She plunged into an 8-metre-deep (26ft) sinkhole and disappeared. Rescuers have found no trace of her so far except for her slippers. Continue reading...

The family watched the rare 3,500-year-old jar, believed used for wine or oil, being restored at the Hecht MuseumSmashing a rare museum artefact dating back thousands of years would probably earn you a lifetime ban at the very least.But a four-year-old who accidentally toppled a jar from the bronze age, leaving it broken into pieces, was welcomed back to the Hecht Museum in Haifa, Israel, a week after the unfortunate incident. Continue reading...

New figures reveal that public bodies paid out at least 60% more to consultancies in 2023-24 than it did pre-pandemicPrivate consultants were paid a scandalous" 3.4bn by public bodies last year, new figures reveal.The statistics, from outsourcing data company Tussell, show that government spending on private consultants was 1.3bn (62%) higher in 2023-24 than 2019-20. They also reveal that the surge in consultant spending seen during Covid has failed to come back down to pre-pandemic levels. Continue reading...

After battling endometriosis herself, a British entrepreneur backs 1m study hoping to improve understanding of the diseaseMarie Macklin was on a Christmas shopping trip in Glasgow in 1997 when she collapsed in a store and was taken to hospital in severe pain. My dad arrived and I told him, I'm dying'," recalled the businesswoman and entrepreneur.Macklin, then 32, turned out to be suffering from endometriosis, a disease in which cells similar to those that line the womb grow elsewhere in the body and can cause severe, chronic pain. The type affecting Macklin was ovarian endometriosis (sometimes referred to as chocolate cysts'). Macklin's cysts were bursting inside her. Continue reading...

She completed 2012 London Marathon in 17 days and raised nearly 1m after being paralysed in a riding fallA charity campaigner who completed a marathon in a bionic suit after being paralysed in a riding accident has died, aged 44.Claire Lomas, who raised nearly 1m competing in events across the country, died following an accident in Jordan on 22 August, her family said. Continue reading...

One person still missing after aircraft that was returning from a firefighting mission crashed into riverPortugal has declared a day of mourning after a firefighting helicopter crashed in the Douro River leaving at least four dead and one missing.The pilot survived the accident, which happened in Lamego a little after 12.30pm on Friday afternoon while the helicopter was returning from fighting a fire near Baiao, just inland from the city of Porto. Continue reading...

Bus was heading to festival in Siegen near Cologne when incident took place on Friday eveningA 32-year-old woman has been arrested after six people were hurt in a knife attack on a bus headed to a festival in western Germany. Authorities said there was no evidence of a political or religious motive.Three of those attacked are in life-threatening condition, police said on Friday evening. Continue reading...

Unseasonably strong winds and record-breaking warm weather has been forecast to continue through the weekend

Experts say sprawling' system, negative attitudes and lack of staff support makes equal access hard to ensure

Prime minister defends government's backflip on census and says single question on sexuality will not limit scope of data

Founding chair Graeme Innes launches petition and accuses service provider of hypocrisy over recruitment for top job

China's representative demanded the scrapping of language about Taiwan in the final communique; Pacific countries will get a new multinational police unitPacific leaders gathered in Tonga this week to discuss the most pressing issues in the region. The group backed a Pacific-wide police training and rapid-response plan championed by Australia, and also reached agreement with France to allow a fact-finding mission to travel to New Caledonia to investigate the recent unrest. But the final day of the talks on Friday was overshadowed by a dispute over language about Taiwan.Here are the key takeaways from the Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) summit, the region's most important annual political gathering, bringing together Australia, New Zealand and 16 Pacific island countries or territories. Continue reading...

Opinion differs only over whether leadership is merely incompetent or actively working with NetanyahuIsrael said on Friday it had killed three militants including a senior Hamas official in an airstrike on a car outside Jenin on the third day of extensive military operations across the West Bank.Israeli leaders say the campaign is designed to pre-empt attacks on Israelis after a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv this month, the first for eight years. Continue reading...

Announcement follows questions over exceptional appointments of Labour donor and former thinktank stafferThe civil service appointments watchdog has launched a review of exceptional appointments to official jobs after a row about alleged cronyism, following a Labour donor and a former thinktank staffer being given roles.Gisela Stuart, the first civil service commissioner, has written to the heads of all government departments asking for details of any appointments since 1 July that were made without going through the normal civil service recruitment processes. Continue reading...

Animal was put down in 2021 after what breeder Helen Macdonald claims was flawed testing for bovine TBA woman who believes her alpaca was unlawfully executed by the state in a miscarriage of justice has said the prime minister should re-examine the case.Alpaca breeder Helen Macdonald said she urgently wanted to meet the newly appointed Labour government to discuss the fate of Geronimo, who was euthanised by the government in August 2021 after twice testing positive for contagious bovine tuberculosis. Continue reading...

Opponents of Labour proposal - including non-smokers - say smoking areas have brought together countless lovers and friendsWhen Lara Bose heard about Labour's proposed ban on outdoor smoking areas, she was shocked. Literally living with the person I got with in the smoking area three years ago. Keir hates love!" she posted on X.Bose, 21, met her partner, Ben, in the outdoor smoking section of a venue in London three years ago, where they shared a cigarette and their first kiss. Describing their fateful encounter at the Under the Bridge venue at Stamford Bridge stadium in 2021, Bose said she spotted Ben, a student at the same university, and found him attractive and charming. Continue reading...

Other private schools say they will absorb some of the cost of the removal of VAT exemptionEton college has sent a letter to parents saying it will raise its fees by a fifth in response to the government's removal of the VAT exemption on private schools. The annual fees will increase from 52,749 to about 63,000.In the letter, the school said: The provost and fellows regret that the government has chosen to tax education in this way. Continue reading...