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Science on specific benefits for children's behaviour and thinking is catching up with established wellbeing claims

Exclusive: Revelation of emails to Imperial College scientists comes amid growing concerns about security risk posed by academic tie-ups with ChinaA Chinese state-owned company sought to use a partnership with a leading British university in order to access AI technology for potential use in smart military bases", the Guardian has learned.Emails show that China's Jiangsu Automation Research Institute (Jari) discussed deploying software developed by scientists at Imperial College London for military use. Continue reading...

Analysis by leading experts the Nuffield Trust reveals that main parties' manifestos would squeeze health spendingLabour and the Conservatives would both leave the NHS with lower spending increases than during the years of Tory austerity, according to an independent analysis of their manifestos by a leading health thinktank.The assessment by the respected Nuffield Trust of the costed NHS policies of both parties, announced in their manifestos last week, says the level of funding increases would leave them struggling to pay existing staff costs, let alone the bill for massive planned increases in doctors, nurses and other staff in the long-term workforce plan agreed last year. Continue reading...

Some believe naming convicted children acts as deterrent, while others say it could glorify horrific actsThe guilty verdicts in the trial of two 12-year-olds for killing Shawn Seesahai in Wolverhampton, puts them among the UK's youngest convicted murderers, and leaves the judge with key decisions to make.Before deciding the minimum sentence to impose on the boys, Mrs Justice Tipples will have to decide whether they should be named. Continue reading...

Authorities caught up with woman alleged to have sailed dinghy to off-limits shore after she posted videos about itA Dubai-based influencer has been fined 1,800 for trespassing on an off-limits pink-tinged beach in Sardinia before sharing a series of video clips and photos of her escapade on social media.The woman arrived by dinghy on the shore of Spiaggia Rosa, a beach famous for its pink sand on the tiny Sardinian island of Budelli, allegedly ignoring all the prohibition signs, according to reports in the Italian press. Continue reading...

Move comes after consumer watchdog found banks were using pricing strategies that were highly complex or took advantage of the tendency to set and forget

Socialists, Greens, Communists and France Unbowed to have joint platform with a candidate in every constituencyFrance's four main leftwing parties have agreed to form a New Popular Front" (NPF) to contest the snap election, as the far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she would seek a national unity government" if her National Rally (RN) wins.The Socialist party (PS), Greens, Communists and France Unbowed (LFI), led by the hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, will campaign on a common platform and field a single joint candidate in each of the 577 parliamentary constituencies. Continue reading...

Leader gets second term after winning vote just hours after ANC and Democratic Alliance agreed coalition dealSouth Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa has been reelected by lawmakers for a second term, hours after his African National Congress and the Democratic Alliance (DA) agreed to form a coalition, setting aside their rivalry in a historic governance pact.Ramaphosa won the late Friday vote against Julius Malema, leader of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters, winning 283 votes to Malema's 44. Continue reading...

Farage says his party will gain more than 6m votes in election after survey puts it ahead of Tories for first timeNigel Farage has declared himself the real leader of the opposition" and predicted his Reform UK party will gain more than 6m votes at the general election, after polling ahead of the Conservatives for the first time.At an impromptu press conference in Westminster, the Reform leader said there was a momentum behind his party, and he absolutely" believes he will gain more votes than the Tories. Continue reading...

Julia Hoggett awarded damehood for services to business, while HSBC chair Mark Tucker receives knighthood Business live - latest updatesThe head of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the chair of HSBC are among the business leaders to be recognised this year in King Charles's birthday honours list.Julia Hoggett, a former banker who has been the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange since 2021, has been awarded a damehood for her services to business and finance. Continue reading...

Russian president's new ultimatum comes as foreign envoys meet in Switzerland to discuss western-led peace planVladimir Putin has demanded that Kyiv cede more land, withdraw troops deeper inside its own country, and drop its Nato bid in order for him to end Russia's war in Ukraine.Putin's fresh ceasefire demands were issued as envoys from more than 90 countries, including Ukraine, convene in Switzerland this weekend to discuss a western-led peace plan. Russia is not invited to the conference and the president's remarks on Friday were likely to have been timed as a spoiler to that summit. Continue reading...

Giorgia Meloni appears to recoil from UK PM, who has no formal bilateral meetings with other G7 leaders on day oneRishi Sunak has insisted he was not being snubbed by other leaders after his first day at the G7 summit ended without any bilateral meetings with his counterparts and he had an awkward encounter with Giorgia Meloni.Meloni, the Italian prime minister who is one of Sunak's closest international allies, appeared to recoil from him after they embraced on his arrival in Puglia for the G7 leaders' summit on Thursday. Continue reading...

Arrest of 57-year-old follows new evidence surfacing during cold case review by Northamptonshire policeA woman has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a newborn baby girl who was found in Northampton more than 40 years ago, police said.The 57-year-old suspect was arrested in Northampton on Tuesday morning and taken to a location in the county for questioning by detectives. Continue reading...

The policy discourse has shrivelled to its political core, where every soundbite becomes both an attack and a defence - and it's just the beginning

The 84-year-old telecoms tycoon has been described as the Latin American prototype of a Russian oligarchCarlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire who this week paid 400m for a 3% stake in BT, has traversed some of life's highest peaks and lowest ebbs.He claims that in 1997, aged 57, he was briefly declared dead after suffering a massive haemorrhage on the operating table at the Texas Heart Institute during surgery to replace a faulty heart valve. Continue reading...

Guy Mukendi, 39, from Brixton sentenced to four years and three months for rape in rare convictionA man has been jailed for four years and three months in a rare conviction for stealthing" - taking a condom off during sex without consent.Guy Mukendi, 39, from Brixton, was sentenced on Thursday at inner London crown court for the rape of a woman last year. The woman had consented to sex with Mukendi on the condition a condom was used, but he removed it without her consent. Continue reading...

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Defence secretary says even bigger win than 1997 landslide would be very bad news' for country

Wang Wang and Fu Ni have not conceived during more than a decade at Adelaide Zoo, sparking speculation they may be replaced

Attacks on shipping leading to delays to deliveries and higher shipping costs, says retailer

JD Vance reveals he was asked whether he had committed a crime or had lied, prompting amusement on social mediaJD Vance, a rightwing senator vying to be Donald Trump's running mate, has inadvertently revealed that as part of his vetting for the role, he was asked questions that might disqualify Trump himself.Talking to Fox & Friends, the Republican senator for Ohio told co-host Steve Doocy that his team had been asked for a number of things" as part of a traditional background check for the vice-president role, adding that a number of people have been asked to submit this and that". Continue reading...

Kim Johnson said city, much of which still boycotts paper over false Hillsborough reporting, would be disappointed in Labour

Ex-nurse to go on trial after Manchester crown court unable to reach verdict last year on attempted murder of babyA jury has been told to disregard Lucy Letby's convictions for murdering babies when they decide whether she is guilty of trying to kill another infant.Letby, 34, is due to go on trial on Wednesday accused of attempting to murder the child, known as Baby K, in February 2016. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader on top deck of party battlebus when objects reportedly thrown from nearby construction site

Union claims Whitbread, which also owns Premier Inn, has not consulted properly with restaurant staffHundreds of workers from restaurants including Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Beefeater outlets are threatening their parent company Whitbread with legal action over alleged poor consultation on 1,500 planned job cuts and closures.The Unite union has written to Whitbread, which also owns Premier Inn hotels, saying it is considering launching employment tribunal claims for unfair dismissal. It says some of the 3,000 workers potentially affected by the company's moves to exit more than 200 restaurants have yet to be told which sites will close despite evidence that plans have been in place since December last year. Continue reading...

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail each win 23% of first preference vote, with Sinn Fein on just 12% after expected landslideVoters in Ireland have bolstered the centrist government, chastened Sinn Fein and elected a handful of far-right candidates in local elections.The ruling coalition hoped also to perform well in the European elections, with preliminary results on Monday suggesting Ireland had, like other European countries, shored up pro-EU mainstream parties. Continue reading...

Far-right gains unlikely to unravel deal but may dampen support for bringing EU in line with 1.5C, say analysts

Win would benefit banks, builders and supermarkets, say analysts, showing appeal of centrist platform' for City

New policy follows sacking of ex-CEO Bernard Looney with top managers given three months to report all relationships in past three yearsBP employees will have to disclose intimate relationships with colleagues or risk losing their jobs, according to a new policy brought out after the dismissal of former boss Bernard Looney for failing to tell the board.Employees must disclose familial and intimate relationships at work" without exception, the FTSE 100 oil company said on Monday. That is a tougher stance than before, when they only had to disclose relationships if they thought there was a a conflict of interest risk. Continue reading...

Cabinet minister Mel Stride says PM deeply regrets' early exit from 80th-anniversary commemoration in Normandy

Man in his 40s also being treated for potentially life-changing injuries after incident at Lambeth country showA woman in her 40s is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after a funfair ride malfunctioned at a country show in south London, the Metropolitan police said. A man in his 40s is also receiving treatment for potentially life-changing injuries.Lambeth country show in Brockwell Park reopened on Sunday, but the rides remained cordoned off. Continue reading...

Most of the European Union's 27 member countries, including powerhouses France and Germany, go to the polls on Sunday, the final dayRobert Fico, Slovakia's prime minister who was shot and seriously injured in May, cast his vote at a hospital in Bratislava.Fico, a populist politician who is closely allied with Hungary's Viktor Orban and has promoted a foreign policy more friendly toward Russia, wrote on social media:I voted in the hospital because these elections are also important. It is necessary to vote for MEPs who will support peace initiatives and not the continuation of war.Consent of western countries given to Ukraine to use western weapons to attack targets on Russian territory is just a proof that big western democracies do not want peace, but an escalation of tensions with the Russian Federation, which will surely happen. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereHere are some images of the hostages and their family and friends embracing after their release:Noa Argamani Continue reading...

Woman, 45, sustained significant trauma' and had part of arm amputated after one attack, and two teens were injured in anotherTwo separate shark attacks at Florida beaches wounded three swimmers, including two teenagers, prompting some popular vacation spots to temporarily close, according to authorities.A shark bit a 45-year-old woman at about 1.20pm on Friday while she swam at Watersound beach, along the coast of Walton county, Florida, in the eastern part of the state. Continue reading...

Move comes after video released showing hip-hop mogul attacking singer Cassie Ventura in 2016Howard University on Friday announced that it has revoked the honorary degree it gave to Sean Diddy" Combs in 2014, discontinued a scholarship program named after the rap mogul and returned a $1m donation from him, citing the video which showed him violently attacking singer Cassie Ventura in the hallway of a Los Angeles hotel.Mr Combs' behavior ... is so fundamentally incompatible with Howard University's core values and beliefs that he is deemed no longer worthy to hold the institution's highest honor," the Washington DC school said in a statement. The university is unwavering in its opposition to all acts of interpersonal violence." Continue reading...

Major art exhibition in Alba de Tormes aims to break cultural stranglehold of Madrid and BarcelonaIn an elegant but unfinished basilica 100 miles from Madrid as the crow - or in this case the stork - flies, some of the hidden and long-dispersed religious treasures of the Spanish Renaissance have been gathered together for an unlikely and potentially pioneering exhibition.Although Alba de Tormes has a rich and turbulent history - it is home to both the illustrious House of Alba and the majority of the remains of St Teresa of Avila - the small and picturesque town in Castilla y Leon is not a habitual venue for the kind of art show more commonly staged in Madrid or Barcelona. Continue reading...

Catherine says she hopes to represent you all once again very soon' as colonel of the regimentThe Princess of Wales has written to the Irish guards to apologise for being unable to take the salute and wish them luck for a trooping the colour event.The colonel's review parade rehearsal for trooping the colour was taking place in central London on Saturday. Continue reading...

Prime minister is not first party leader to make bad decisions during heat of a general election campaign

A row between rivals Panini and Topps has meant collectors cannot fill an album with players in their kits from all 24 nations in this year's tournamentAdding stickers of your favourite players into an album is arguably one of the few innocent pleasures that remain for football fans. But children and seasoned collectors have discovered that even this gentle pastime has been affected by modern football's passion for money.The Panini sticker album has been a staple of international tournaments since the 1970s. But after Uefa sold the rights for stickers for Euro 2024 to its American rival Topps, Panini launched an alternative England 2024" album, using rights held by England, Italy, Germany and France that were not part of Uefa's deal. Continue reading...

Fox had said he had no political ambitions when being vetted as chair of Independent Monitoring Authority

Three US nationals on trial in Democratic Republic of Congo over events in May described as an attempted coupMore than 50 people, including three US citizens and a Belgian, have gone on trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo over what the army has described as an attempted coup.The actions of the three Americans were punishable by death", Judge Freddy Ehume told the military court in the DRC capital, Kinshasa. Continue reading...

Olympian says women's 400 metres would have reached a whole new level if her main rival Marie-Jose Perec had competed in the final

Immigration minister announces direction 110 after previous rules used to overturn visa cancellations for non-citizens who committed serious offences

As grim memory of world war fades, many people are anxious amid rise of nationalist, country-first rhetoricTwenty-two British D-day veterans, the youngest nearly 100, crossed the Channel on Tuesday to mark this week's 80th anniversary of the landings in Normandy, representing a thinning thread to the heroics of two or three generations ago when about 150,000 allied soldiers began a seaborne invasion of western Europe that helped end the second world war.Ron Hayward, a tank trooper who lost his legs fighting in France three weeks after D-day, told crowds assembled in Portsmouth on Wednesday why he and other soldiers were there: I represent the men and women who put their lives on hold to go and fight for democracy and this country. I am here to honour their memory and their legacy, and to ensure that their story is never forgotten." Continue reading...

State government failed to take action' on issues with Staying Home Leaving Violence program, Greens say

Federal minister Jason Clare and opposition leader Peter Dutton say additional camera angles may shed light on incident at Canberra airport

Bedouins erect tents only for Israeli forces to return and dismantle them in Negev village earmarked for clearanceUnder the unrelenting heat of the Negev desert, for the fifth time in the last two weeks, Tayaeer Abu Asda has set up an improvised tent, which will serve as a temporary home for his wife and five children for at least the next three days. Abu Asda, 38, a Palestinian Bedouin and truck driver, is one of a group of Bedouins now numbering 500 who have been living for decades in Wadi al-Khalil, a village east of Be'er Sheva, about 12 miles (20km) from Gaza.In early May, Israeli authorities demolished 350 structures in the community, 47 of them homes, leaving hundreds of children homeless. In the shadow of the conflict in Gaza, the government described this action as an important move of sovereignty and governance". Continue reading...

Smaller allies emerge as powerful kingmakers in effort to form government before swearing in of PMNarendra Modi is facing the first test of coalition politics after losing his outright majority in the Indian election, with smaller coalition allies emerging as powerful kingmakers in the formation of the government.Modi's Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) won the most seats in the election results declared on Tuesday, but not enough to pass the 272 parliamentary majority mark, forcing it to rely on coalition partners to return to power. Continue reading...

French officials insist on checking paperwork of 400 troops landing in Normandy for 80th anniversary commemorationEyebrows were raised at the Ministry of Defence when French immigration and customs insisted on checking the paperwork of 400 British paratroopers immediately after they dropped into fields near Saneville, Normandy on Wednesday.Some felt the French were trying to make a point in response to the UK's decision to leave the EU and, while immigration checks for British troops on exercise abroad are routine, doing so at a public commemoration is deemed exceptional. Continue reading...

Total of eight infants have died from the disease this year, as experts urge pregnant women to get vaccinatedThree more babies have died from whooping cough this year as cases continue to rise across the country, according to the UK Health Security Agency.Since January, there have been 4,793 confirmed cases of whooping cough, with 181 babies under the age of three months diagnosed with the illness. A total of eight babies have now died from whooping cough this year. Continue reading...