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London mayor adds voice to chorus of calls as international outcry grows over starvation and killings in Gaza

This blog is now closed, you can read more UK political coverage hereIndia's prime minister, Narendra Modi, is visiting London to sign a landmark free trade agreement between his country and the UK, a pact viewed as a political and economic prize amid global trade tensions unleashed by the US president, Donald Trump.For Britain, eager to score a post-Brexit win, the deal is its most economically significant trade agreement since leaving the EU. For India, it marks its first major free trade pact outside Asia. For both, analysts say, the agreement signals a long-term economic partnership. Continue reading...

Studio built for textile designer Bernat Klein by Peter Womersley put up for auction despite hopes of private saleA coalition of heritage and design groups has launched a last-minute attempt to save one of the UK's most threatened modernist buildings after its owners put it up for auction.The late modernist studio was built in the Scottish Borders in 1972 for the textile designer Bernat Klein, whose fabrics were worn by Coco Chanel and Jean Shrimpton, and is widely regarded as a jewel of late 20th-century architecture. Continue reading...

The musician once famously bit the head off of a bat but later worked with the animal-protection group on an ad campaignPerhaps the most notorious of Ozzy Osbourne's outrageous on-stage antics was biting the head off of a bat on stage. So as tributes for the late rocker poured in from around the globe, one stuck out as particularly surprising - from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).The 76-year-old Black Sabbath frontman's death was announced Tuesday, with his family saying Osbourne - who suffered from various ailments, including a form of Parkinson's disease - was with his family and surrounded by love". Continue reading...

Thomas Woldbye speaks of damages claim as a possibility and expresses caution over a third runway

Corporation says broadcasting series that was made last year is right thing to do for sake of cooks who took partA forthcoming series of MasterChef which was filmed last year before allegations against Gregg Wallace and John Torode were upheld will be broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 6 August.Both MasterChef presenters will feature in the series, but the edit will be looked at in light of the findings, with focus being given to the contestants, it is understood. Continue reading...

Fundraising campaign launched after Grade II-listed Capel Rhondda, near Pontypridd, put up for saleA Welsh valleys community has launched a campaign to save the chapel where the popular hymn Cwm Rhondda, or Bread of Heaven, was first sung.The composer John Hughes wrote the hymn in 1907 to celebrate a new organ at Capel Rhondda in Hopkinstown, near Pontypridd. Continue reading...

Australian Bureau of Statistics' 2024 figures show median marriage age was 32.8 years for men and 31.2 for women

Supreme court also quashes conviction of banker Carlo Palombo over incorrect directions given to jury

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Former Geelong Revival Centre members tell inquiry abuse went unreported because group believed its authority was higher than the law of the land'

FRC examines whether accounting firm gave sufficient consideration to risk of non-compliance with laws'The accounting firm Deloitte is under investigation by the sector regulator over eight years of its audits into the FTSE 100 commodities and mining company Glencore and a UK subsidiary.The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said it was looking into whether Deloitte's audits of Glencore and its subsidiary Glencore Energy UK for the financial years ending 2013 to 2020 gave sufficient consideration to the risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations". Continue reading...

Jon Farley arrested under Terrorism Act at Leeds demonstration for holding sign making joke about Palestine Action banThe terror arrest of a man for holding up a Private Eye cartoon during a protest at the weekend was mind-boggling", the magazine's editor, Ian Hislop, has said, as the retired teacher called for an apology from police.Jon Farley was picked up by police at a silent demonstration in Leeds on Saturday, which he described as a pretty terrifying and upsetting experience", for holding a sign that made a joke about the government's proscription of the group Palestine Action from the last issue of the fortnightly satirical magazine. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: A year into opposition, Kemi Badenoch's party is still searching for its place in UK politicsGood morning. Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative party (remember them?), has announced a reshuffle of her top team a year into her leadership.The reshuffle itself has not come as a surprise - it was rumoured for months. Badenoch has kept much of her team in place, including the shadow home secretary, Robert Jenrick, shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, and the shadow foreign secretary, Priti Patel.Israel-Gaza war | Israel's government is pursuing an unacceptable and morally unjustifiable" policy in Gaza, the Catholic Latin patriarch of Jerusalem has said after visiting a church in the territory that was attacked by Israeli forces and meeting survivors.Environment | The world is on the brink of a breakthrough in the climate fight and fossil fuels are running out of road, the UN chief said on Tuesday, as he urged countries to funnel support into low-carbon energy.Immigration | Officials are to start using artificial intelligence to help estimate the age of asylum seekers who say they are children, Angela Eagle, the immigration minister, said on Tuesday.UK news | A man has been found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service after handing over personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to two British undercover officers he believed to be Russian agents.Music | Ozzy Osbourne, whose gleeful Prince of Darkness" image made him one of the most iconic rock frontmen of all time, has died aged 76. His death comes less than three weeks after his retirement from performance. Continue reading...

Forty people who have been offered scholarships unable to travel without biometric data they have no way of gettingPressure is mounting on ministers to intervene on behalf of 40 students in Gaza who have been offered full scholarships to study at UK universities, but are unable to take up their places this September because of government red tape.A high-level meeting is understood to have taken place at the Home Office on Tuesday after MPs and campaigners highlighted the students' plight, calling on ministers to take action to help secure their safe passage to the UK. Some students are reported to have been killed while waiting, while others are said to be in constant danger. Continue reading...

Home Office orders diversion from usual landing place to Ramsgate to avoid clashes with far rightCharities have warned of the increasing danger to asylum seekers posed by far-right protesters after small boat arrivals were moved from their usual landing place in Dover to further along the coast to avoid clashes.The Guardian understands that Home Office officials received intelligence that some of those participating in what was billed the Great British National Protest in Dover on Saturday afternoon could have been planning to target Kent Intake Unit, where small boat arrivals are initially processed after being escorted to shore in Dover by the Border Force. Continue reading...

Operator says if rivals are allowed to squeeze into existing facilities it could jeopardise its investmentEurostar has urged the UK government to choose a credible long-term strategy" for international rail or risk falling behind" the rest of Europe, before a crucial decision by the regulator that could end its cross-Channel monopoly.The high-speed train operator warned that a premature" ruling from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to allow competitors to squeeze trains into existing facilities could jeopardise its planned investment and expansion. Continue reading...

Alastair Campbell and children's author Michael Rosen among advocates calling for oracy to be in curriculumThe children's writer Michael Rosen, one-time political strategist Alastair Campbell and former education secretaries Charles Clarke and Estelle Morris have urged the prime minister to honour his pre-election pledge to embed speaking skills in England's schools.They are among 60 signatories to an open letter to Keir Starmer, calling on him to establish oracy as a core part of Labour's revised national curriculum and make it the fourth R' in education, alongside reading, writing and arithmetic. Continue reading...

Emergency crews were called to Tom Uglys Bridge at Sylvania following reports of people floating in the water

Clips show robots serving popcorn and Tesla fans standing in line at California diner owned by world's richest personIn between Elon Musk's ill-fated role as a senior adviser to the president, running SpaceX and owning X, the world's richest person has taken on a new venture, opening the retro futuristic" Tesla Diner in Los Angeles.The business opened its doors in Hollywood at 4.20pm on Monday, offering a charging station, drive-in and a diner that serves, as Musk promised, classic American fare like burgers and milkshakes" and wagyu beef chili, breakfast tacos and iced nitro" matcha. Footage from the diner's opening showed robots serving popcorn, burgers served in Cybertruck-shaped boxes and episodes of Star Trek playing on the restaurant's large outdoor screens. Continue reading...

CND and experts cite US air force transport flight thought to be carrying tactical bombs that landed at RAF baseCampaigners have called for Keir Starmer to tell parliament whether US nuclear weapons have returned to British soil after a distinctive US air force transport flight was spotted landing at RAF Lakenheath on Friday morning.The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and several experts believe that it is highly likely that a number of US B61-12 gravity bombs were delivered to a US air force squadron last week, the first US nuclear deployment in the UK since 2008. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Peter Kosminsky accuses government of acting like tinpot dictatorship' in pressuring director generalOne of television's most prominent directors has accused the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, of attempting to bully the BBC" over its coverage of Gaza, following her repeated attacks on its director general, Tim Davie.Peter Kosminsky, the writer and director of the BBC drama Wolf Hall, claimed the government was acting like a tinpot dictatorship" in heaping political pressure on Davie. Continue reading...

Sites in Aberdeen, Brighton, Camden, Dundee, Leeds and Sheffield among those to shut on SaturdayBrewDog will close 10 bars, including its flagship location in Aberdeen, amid an extremely difficult" environment for pubs and restaurants.James Taylor, the chief executive of the brewer, told staff in an email that it was no longer viable to keep the bars open. They are in Aberdeen, Brighton, Camden, Dundee, Leeds North Street, Oxford, Sheffield, Shepherd's Bush, Shoreditch and York. Continue reading...

UN secretary general warns last lifelines' may soon collapse after Israeli forces attack WHO facilities in Deir al-Balah

A survey by the Australian HR Institute and the Australian Human Rights Commission found that nearly one-quarter of employers classify over-50s as old'

Exclusive: Worker named by deeply traumatised' child still has job and has not been charged because no one witnessed the alleged incidents and there was no CCTV

Howard Phillips, 65, gave Shapps's home address and private plane location to undercover officersA man has been found guilty of assisting a foreign intelligence service after handing over personal details of the then defence secretary, Grant Shapps, to two undercover officers he believed to be Russian agents.Howard Phillips, 65, was convicted at Winchester crown court after jurors heard he had been seeking easy money" when he offered his services to the undercover officers, known as Dima and Sasha. Continue reading...

NHS Providers boss says it is doing responsible thing' after BMA union said it was putting patients at riskThe NHS has hit out at the doctors' trade union for alleging that it is putting patient safety at risk by not cancelling planned treatment during a forthcoming strike.NHS Providers, a membership organisation for NHS Trusts, says it is in fact the British Medical Association (BMA) putting patient safety at risk by staging a strike. Continue reading...

Researchers find 270 allegations at mineral projects across 13 countries in Europe and central Asia last yearMines on the EU's periphery that could be critical to its energy transition have recorded a large rise in allegations of abuse ranging from workplace deaths to soil pollution, a report has found, with a threefold increase in 2024 from the average of the five previous years.The nonprofit Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) found 270 allegations of environmental and human rights abuses in transition mineral projects across 13 countries in Europe and central Asia last year, up from 92 the year before. Continue reading...

Former Queensland judge knew material he disclosed to reporters posed significant risk to then-ACT director of public prosecutions' career, court told

Inquest hears how no ambulance was sent to Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, whose daughter Loraine Choulla was completely dependent on herA woman who was found dead alongside her entirely dependent" teenage daughter had called 999 saying she could not move" almost four months before her body was found but no ambulance was sent to her, an inquest has heard.Alphonsine Djiako Leuga, 47, suffered from sickle cell anaemia and died from pneumonia, and her 18-year-old daughter, Loraine Choulla, had learning difficulties and Down's syndrome, relying on her mother for food and hydration. Continue reading...

US comedian and Portia de Rossi have stayed in the UK since Trump's re-election, and are considering getting married again in case the US overturns same-sex marriageEllen DeGeneres has confirmed that she moved to the UK because of Donald Trump, saying, Everything here is just better".At a conversation event on Sunday at Cheltenham's Everyman theatre - the comedian's first public appearance since leaving the US - broadcaster Richard Bacon asked DeGeneres if it was true Trump had spurred her decision to relocate. Continue reading...

The 18-year-old is in a serious but stable condition at Royal Darwin hospital

Party says Hutton's membership has been terminated over debate harmful to trans people but he says it's an issue of free speech

Ballot heaps pressure on Ishiba's minority government just as it attempts to negotiate deal to avert Trump tariffsJapanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba's future was unclear on Monday after his coalition lost its upper house majority in elections that saw strong gains by a rightwing populist party.While the ballot does not directly determine whether Ishiba's minority government falls, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader, who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October and who has never been popular within his own party. Continue reading...

Merseyside police says material in support of Palestine Action was reportedly seen in possession of protestersFour people were arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences during a pro-Palestine protest in Liverpool city centre on Sunday afternoon, police said.Merseyside police said material in support of campaign group Palestine Action was reportedly seen in the possession of a small number of protesters at the regular march for Liverpool Friends of Palestine. Continue reading...

Rightmove blames the 1.2% fall in new sellers' prices on the end of stamp duty discounts and more homes coming on to the marketThe average price of homes coming up for sale dropped by the largest monthly amount in more than 20 years in July, according to a property website, after the end of temporary cuts to stamp duty, and recent increases in council tax on second homes.The average price being asked by new sellers fell by 1.2%, or 4,531, in July compared with a month earlier, to 373,709. Continue reading...

Revived body will examine future of the retirement system as analysis shows pensioner income is set to fallThe government is resurrecting the Pensions Commission, amid fears that a retirement crisis could mean today's workers will be poorer in retirement than the current crop of pensioners.The move by ministers to revive the landmark commission, established by Tony Blair's government in 2002, comes as analysis shows that the income of pensioners is set to fall in the coming decades. Continue reading...

Demonstrators chant send them home' and save our kids' as bottles and flares thrown at police blocking entranceFive people have been arrested after more than 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside a hotel in Essex believed to be housing asylum seekers, police said.Demonstrators, some of whom appeared to be drinking alcohol, chanted send them home" and save our kids" as bottles and smoke flares were thrown towards police vans blocking the entrance to the Bell hotel in Epping on Sunday evening. Continue reading...

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter, 80, have been held for five-and-a-half months without chargeThe children of an elderly couple imprisoned by the Taliban in Afghanistan have urged the group to release the pair before they die in custody".They said the UN would be making a statement on Monday calling for the immediate release of Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, who were arrested as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan, in February. Continue reading...

Environment secretary to make announcement on Monday as part of review that is expected to abolish OfwatA new water ombudsman will be announced on Monday by the environment secretary, Steve Reed, as part of government plans to overhaul the embattled sector.The body will be among sweeping changes recommended in a review launched by Jon Cunliffe that are also expected to include the abolishment of Ofwat, the industry watchdog for England and Wales. Continue reading...

Pontiff also speaks of anguish over Israeli strike on territory's only Catholic church, which killed three peoplePope Leo XIV has condemned the barbarity" of the war in Gaza and the indiscriminate use of force" as Gaza's health ministry said at least 85 Palestinians had been killed queueing for food.The ministry said on Sunday that the victims had been killed in different locations, mostly in northern Gaza. Continue reading...

Yellow rain and thunderstorm warnings in place in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of EnglandHalf a month's rainfall could hit the UK in the next 24 hours, the Met Office said on Sunday, issuing weather warnings across the country.Yellow weather warnings for rain and thunderstorms were in place in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the north and south-west of England until 10pm on Sunday, with more warnings coming into force in other areas on Monday. Continue reading...

Vehicle veered off road in Bohmte, hit a boy on a trampoline then catapulted into the air, police sayPolice in northwestern Germany said on Sunday that several people were injured when a car veered off a road, hit a seven-year-old boy on a trampoline and crashed into a barn roof on its side.Police said that the car first collided with a parked vehicle in the town of Bohmte, broke through a hedge and drove into a garden where it hit the boy. Continue reading...

Women aged 31, 34 and 42 charged after arrests on Tuesday for incident at Leonardo facilityThree women have been charged under the Terrorism Act after a van was driven into the fence of an aerospace factory in Edinburgh.The incident happened at the Leonardo facility on Crewe Road North on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Duke Education says their course uses chat-style delivery' to deliver classes on writing emails and identifying hazards but does not utilise artificial intelligence

Eleven people still unaccounted for after record downpours sweep north across country, triggering landslidesHeavy rain in South Korea has killed at least 17 people with 11 others unaccounted for in the intense downpours.Close to 170mm (6.7in) of rain hit the resort town of Gapyeong county in Gyeonggi province, 40 miles east of Seoul, early on Sunday. A landslide engulfed houses and flooding swept away vehicles. Continue reading...

More than 150 people also wounded, some critically, as some witnesses say Israeli military shot at crowd. This live blog is closedIsrael wants the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to replace a system coordinated by the UN and international aid groups. Along with the US, it accuses Hamas of stealing aid, without offering evidence.Critics have argued that the GHF is a tool for the Israeli and US governments to politicise humanitarian aid and to distribute it in ways that will depopulate sectors of Gaza in apparent violation of international law. Continue reading...

Increase in number of women dying during pregnancy or soon after giving birth is appalling', say Lib DemsGrowing numbers of women in the UK are dying during pregnancy or soon after giving birth, even though fewer babies are being born, official figures show.While 209 maternal deaths occurred in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland during 2015-17, that rose to 254 during 2021-23, data compiled by the House of Commons library shows. Continue reading...

Flag held up during curtain call for Il Trovatore, with attempts to remove it resistedA Palestinian flag was at the centre of a tussle after it was unfolded on stage at the Royal Opera House in London by a cast member on Saturday night during a curtain call.The incident took place during the encore of Il Trovatore on Saturday night, and attempts to remove the flag were resisted. Continue reading...